Twinleaf Is The New Konoha
by CanisLupus4
Summary: ...and the new Kiri outpost. Even Taki and Ame have representatives. A number of dead characters find themselves in an odd new world.
1. First Contact

Ahoy, people XD. This is my first time publishing a fanfic, and I hope I'm doing fine. Any tips, help, suggestion, whatever would be very welcome... including pointers on navigating this place XD.

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><p>O.O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter One: First Contact<span>

"…. Wake up, brother."

Senju Hashirama groaned as someone tapped him on the shoulder. Lying on the ground with no idea how he had gotten there was certainly not something he liked. He sat up clumsily, blinking, as he tried to place the familiar yet odd voice. "…. You sound like Tobirama," he eventually mumbled.

"It _is_ me," the speaker replied from beside him, clearly amused. "I'm guessing your mind's still feeling scrambled; I was rather disorientated when I woke up, myself. Then again, somehow growing over a decade younger might do that."

"What?" The Shodai Hokage suddenly felt very wide awake. Any trace of sleepiness certainly vanished when he turned to look at his brother.

The boy kneeling next to him wore a fur-trimmed blue jacket over a black shirt, along with dark blue pants and sandals. Spiky white hair framed a round face with an orange stripe marking the chin and each cheek. He was unmistakably Senju Tobirama. Aged ten or so.

"It's no genjutsu," Tobirama remarked, correctly interpreting his brother's expression. "Not a dream either."

Hashirama tore his gaze away, looking around. A boy about Tobirama's current age sat nearby, the characteristic white eyes of the Hyuuga watching him. The three of them sat in a forest clearing, sunlight shining down, a cold breeze rustling the leaves. The trees felt foreign to the Mokuton user; wherever they were, it certainly wasn't in the Fire Country. "So…. What happened?"

His brother shrugged. "I don't know. Woke up nearby, stumbled around, nearly fell over the Hyuuga, nearly screamed like a girl when he jumped up and attacked me, he near enough screams when he not only fails to properly make his nerve strike, but realizes I'm Second Hokage."

"You exaggerate, Nidaime-sama," the other boy stated calmly. "It is good to see that you are awake, Shodai-sama. I am Hyuuga Hizashi."

* * *

><p>The boy with white-blond hair and dark eyes sat at one end of the clearing. The girl with pale mint-green hair and orange eyes sat at the other end. The two eyed each other warily.<p>

"Go away," the girl said.

"Why?" The boy did not seem put off by her hostility, only curious.

"I don't like people, and they don't like me," she retorted. "Now go away."

He nodded understandingly. "People didn't like me either," he commented. "I guess they still don't, but I wouldn't know."

She looked at him suspiciously. "Why wouldn't you know?"

He frowned, hesitating, then decided it didn't matter. "The last thing I remember is killing myself."

The girl did not reply. Her fierce scowl slipped from her face, replaced by a thoughtful look. They sat in contemplative silence for a while, until the chirping of a bird drew their attention.

It perched on a branch, beady black eyes looking about. The small, plump body and round head was patterned in striking dark grey and white, while the beak and feet were orange. A tuft of feathers sticking up on top of the head lent the creature a comical feel.

"Konoha has nothing like that," the boy whispered.

"Neither does Taki," the girl muttered. "This place is weird."

"I agree," the boy said with a small smile. "What's your name?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Fuu. Why?"

"I'm Sakumo."

"I don't care."

"That's fine by me." They continued watching the strange bird in silence. Fuu occasionally sneaked a glance at the odd boy.

* * *

><p>"How old are you supposed to be, Nawaki?" the orange-haired boy asked as they walked through the woods together, glancing around cautiously.<p>

"Twelve, Yahiko," the brown-haired boy replied. "Why?"

"I'm supposed to be sixteen," Yahiko said, frowning at the odd paw prints on the ground. "Or eighteen. Definitely taller than this. At least you're about your own age. What about you, Utakata?"

The lanky boy trailing behind had a distant, thoughtful look on his face that was mostly obscured by his black bangs of hair. "I should be taller too," he answered distractedly.

* * *

><p>The sapling stood as high as Hashirama's nose. He frowned at it, and the young plant stretched to just above his head. Suppressing an undignified huff, he sat down, examining the dark red jacket he now wore over a plain black shirt and pants. While the clothing was certainly to his taste, he was sure he had never seen them before in his life, which brought up even more questions to add to the steadily growing list.<p>

"So, molding and using chakra is still possible," Sarutobi Hiruzen observed, fingering a small patch of burnt grass. His predecessors had found him just two trees away with Hizashi's help some minutes ago. "Although difficult, possibly due to the current state of our bodies." The Sandaime Hokage certainly did not like the pitiful result of his attempt at a Fire Release technique. "How do things look, Hizashi?"

"To my eyes, honoured Hokages, we are quite alive and well," Hizashi said, deactivating his Byakugan with a tired sigh. Having confirmed that they were all supposed to be dead, the presence of a heartbeat in each of them was a shock. Especially since Hizashi had certainly never met the First and Second Hokage in the flesh before. "Your chakra circulatory systems appear to be normal, though perhaps not channeling quite as much power as one would expect. And, if you will forgive my saying so, Shodai-sama, you have all the chakra control of a rookie genin."

Hashirama did not contradict the remark.

"Also," Hizashi continued, smoothly moving past the awkward moment, "we are not the only ones in this stretch of forest. I counted nine others in addition of ourselves, all with equally powerful chakra signatures….and equally poor control."

"So they may have arrived under the same circumstances we did," Hiruzen mused.

"Senju, Hyuuga, Sarutobi….we could use an Uchiha, round off nicely our group of representatives from the most powerful clans of Konoha," Tobirama noted wryly.

"Famous last words, brother," Hashirama muttered, looking up.

A thin boy in a dark blue high-collared shirt and light grey pants perched on a tree branch, watching them with too-serious dark eyes. "You look like the Nidaime Hokage," the boy said.

The white-haired boy scowled. "Because I _am_ the Nidaime," he replied, affecting a tone of exasperation. "Who are you?"

Hiruzen's eyes widened. "Uchiha Itachi."

* * *

><p>"The two of you look lost," the blue-eyed boy stated, the breeze ruffling his unruly head of spiky blond hair.<p>

The green-eyed boy glanced at the brown-eyed boy, and back to the boy who had spoken. "We _are_ lost," he said simply.

The blond-haired boy said nothing for a moment, looking them over. The green-eyed boy had shoulder-length white hair, one lock of which was bound in a red hair tie. He wore a black sleeveless shirt, dark grey pants and black sandals, with a grey-striped white jacket tied around his waist. His companion had straight black hair, worn shoulder-length too but without any accessory, and was dressed in a teal sleeveless jacket over a pale blue long-sleeved shirt, along with deep green pants and blue sandals. Both boys had a short, slender built.

"I'm lost too," the blond-haired boy admitted, flashing a brief grin. "Perhaps we could search together?"

The black-haired boy nodded. "That would be nice," he said with a small smile. This boy in the blue long-sleeved shirt and matching pants seemed alright. "I'm Haku."

"I'm Kimimaro," the white-haired boy said.

"I'm Minato," the blue-eyed boy replied. "It's a pleasure to meet the two of you. Come on, let's start walking."

* * *

><p>"What do you think of that odd duck?" Tobirama asked, still glancing back at the bushes which the yellow-feathered waddling creature had vanished into.<p>

"Not native to Konoha or the lands around it, that is for certain," his former student replied. The five Konoha-nin – or four Konoha-nin and one missing-nin – were walking through the forest, closing in on a pair of the chakra signatures Hizashi had spotted earlier.

"We may not be anywhere near the Five Great Nations," Itachi suggested. "Given that each of us distinctly remembers dying-"

"We might be in the afterlife?" Tobirama remarked. "Doesn't explain why we would meet each other just now, though; I died well before Sarutobi did, and you said you died three years later than he did. Unless there is some spooky you-are-here-for-a-purpose thing going on."

* * *

><p>Minato, Haku and Kimimaro peered out from behind the trees. They appeared to had come to the edge of a small town. The blond-haired boy knelt, touching a finger to the ground. "I don't sense any shinobi…. I think. Perhaps only one," he said, frowning. "Though there do seem to be a number of odd chakra signatures….similar to animal summons, but I can't place it."<p>

"We should not go in unprepared," Kimimaro noted.

"I have no weapons with me," Haku informed them, checking his person.

Minato performed a similarly futile search, shrugged, and lifted his hand, palm facing up. A blue sphere of energy slowly condensed in his hand. The other two boys stared. He grimaced, allowing the chakra to dissipate. "Too slow. It's going to take a lot of training to get back up to my usual standard….what _are_ you doing, Kimimaro….?"

The white-haired boy was gritting his teeth in concentration, his left arm held out before him. Haku's eyes widened as a knob of white protruded at an angle from his wrist, quickly followed by a length of polished white, tapering to a sharp point as Kimimaro grasped and drew it. Passing it to a stunned Minato, he produced two more bone knives in succession, giving one to Haku and keeping the other for himself.

"Bloodline limit?" Haku eventually asked, an odd note in his voice.

"Yes." Kimimaro raised an eyebrow at his look.

"I have one too," Haku explained, lifting a hand. Ice shards crystallised in his palm. "My mother was killed because of it. My father tried to do the same to me." The expression on his face was inscrutable.

"My clan feared me and locked me away," Kimimaro replied in the same emotionless tone. The two glanced at Minato. He did not miss the flash of wariness in those looks.

"I know people with kekkei genkai abilities," Minato said neutrally. "The people of my village do not harbour hate or fear for any such person. But I have never seen a talent like yours, Kimimaro. How durable is this?" He indicated the bone weapon.

"Stronger than the finest steel." Kimimaro seemed glad for the change in topic, as did Haku. "I can increase the density of any bones I create so that they become almost indestructible."

"Ah." There was a momentary silence, broken by a stranger's voice.

"Who's there?"

Minato suppressed a wince – had he allowed himself to be so distracted a civilian could surprise them? – and duly stepped out into plain view to face the speaker.

A slender man dressed sharply in blue and black stood there, mild curiosity on his angular face and in his dark eyes. His hair was black and stuck out in all directions, but had a slightly squashed look to it that suggested recent use of a hat.

The oddest creature Minato had ever seen stood next to the man.

It had a head shaped like a hound or wolf, with tall sharp ears and a pointed snout, as well as piercing red eyes. Four lobes of some sort hung at the back of its head. The animal, if it was an animal, was bipedal, each limb ending in a three-toed paw. The head and limbs were a rich blue, marked with black, and the torso was yellow-furred. A stiff thin tail was just noticeable behind it. What appeared to be metal spikes adorned the chest and the back of each forepaw.

"What is that?" Minato heard himself ask.

The man smiled. "That's a Lucario."


	2. Kore Wa Nan Desuka

Yes, I already have two chapters done XD. I have the third in progress too; it should be up in a few days... unless I wind up writing the fourth chapter as well before posting both of them.

"Kore wa nan desuka", by the way, is Japanese for "What is this?", for those who haven't got one lousy semester of lessons in basic Jap XD. I should imagine this is the question the poor displaced shinobi will be asking quite often. *mischievous chuckle*

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><p>O.O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Two: Kore Wa Nan Desuka?<span>

"What _are_ those?" Nawaki whispered.

"Some kind of odd tortoise," Utakata replied. The three were hidden in the bushes on the forest edge, watching a boy and a girl – likely siblings, judging by the matching black hair and grey eyes – standing across from each other, each with a strange animal by their side. "Wait…. Is that monkey's rear _on fire_?"

As they observed, the boy suddenly shouted something. "Turtwig, Tackle!" Immediately following those two words, the green and brown tortoise charged at the orange monkey with a surprising amount of speed for such stubby legs.

"Chimchar, dodge and use Ember!" the girl cried. The monkey sprang out of the way, somersaulted in midair, and spat a stream of what appeared to be miniature fireballs at its opponent.

"So it's not just on fire; it can spit fire," Yahiko commented. "This…. Chimchar seems to be an excellent pet to have." As they watched, the boy repeated his command, and the tortoise simply shook off its disorientation and dashed at the monkey again; this time it crashed headlong into the orange creature, who flew backwards with a cry. "Good job, Turtwig!" the boy cried.

Nawaki winced. "Why are they making their pets fight?" Yahiko and Utakata shrugged, though they rather shared Nawaki's sentiments.

"Chimchar, use Scratch!" called the girl, and the monkey ran forward, small hands slashing. White light streaked the air as the tortoise squealed and fell back. "Come on, Turtwig, use Razor Leaf!" the boy quickly shouted. The little green creature jumped back and jerked its head sharply, producing from the shoot on its head a slew of flat green projectiles that drove the monkey leaping away with a screech.

"I think that's enough, Dawn," the boy said, pulling a hand-sized red-and-white ball from the pocket of his blue pants. "It's nearly lunchtime. Turtwig, great job. Return!" The tortoise dissolved into red light that streamed into the ball and disappeared.

"So the creatures are some form of summons," Yahiko surmised. "Though that is an unusual tool to use."

"You're always hungry, Lucas," Dawn shot back. "Chimchar, come back!" The monkey, too, vanished in a burst of light, though the hidden shinobi could not for their lives figure out where she stowed the ball, in that figure-hugging short dress no less. "Fine, we'll continue training later."

"Oh!" The pieces fell into place for them. "They were having a sparring match!" Nawaki said, careful to keep his voice down despite his excitement.

"They are also almost certainly civilians," Utakata observed, "to not be using these skills themselves. Perhaps it is a common practice in these parts? They are accustomed to keeping and using those strange animals" his expression briefly twisted, then regained his cool "even though they can only be about eleven or twelve years old at most."

"We could ask them for directions," Nawaki suggested. The other two looked at him. "Why not? They would know this place better than we do, and if they prove unfriendly…. We're ninja."

Yahiko looked thoughtful. "Even if they use those summons, they would hardly be fit match for shinobi reflexes," he noted. "Worth a try. You two stay here in case I need backup."

The orange-haired boy strolled confidently out of the woods. The siblings were walking away down the path towards some nearby houses, but stopped as he called out to them. "Hi," Yahiko offered with a charming smile. "I'm a traveller, but I seem to have lost my way. Can you tell me where I am?"

"How can you get lost around here?" Dawn exclaimed in surprise. "Twinleaf Town is just down this path."

Yahiko laughed nervously. Dawn's brother frowned. "Dawn, that's not very nice. I'm Lucas," he smiled at the stranger. "We're just heading home for lunch. Do you want to join us? You could use a bit of rest, and I've got a map or two that might help…." He chuckled at his own forwardness.

The Ame-nin's eyebrows went up. This was certainly the first time he had been confronted with such open hospitality. Try as he might, though, he couldn't see a catch to it. Unless the siblings were secretly cannibals or something, they could have no real for luring a lone stranger into a trap, and if they wanted to rob him or take him prisoner, it certainly didn't require lying like that. "What do you think, Nawaki?" he called over his shoulder.

"I don't see why not," the younger boy said with a shrug as he emerged. "Come on, Utakata." The black-haired boy followed him out without a sound.

"Why were they hiding?" Dawn questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Erm…."

Lucas again unwittingly saved Yahiko from awkward questions. "Maybe they were just shy," he suggested, elbowing his sister. Given that Utakata's long black hair all but completely obscured his face, this was not such a far-fetched assumption, and one Yahiko was happy to go along with.

* * *

><p>"A Lucario," Minato repeated. "This is the first I have ever heard of such a creature, much less seen one."<p>

"You seem pretty surprised, kid," the man observed. "New to these parts?"

I'm not a kid, the Yondaime Hokage almost shot back. What he did voice was: "New to these parts? Yes, you could say that."

The man nodded, sharp dark eyes looking over Minato's shoulder. "Your friends don't need to be shy, you know. And I suppose I should introduce myself; I'm Riley." He extended a hand.

Minato shook it, as behind him Kimimaro and Haku emerged from behind the trees. "Minato Namikaze," he replied. "The white-haired one is Kimimaro, and the other one's Haku."

"Good to meet you too, Haku, Kimimaro," Riley said. His expression seemed reserved, but friendly enough. "I'm afraid I can't really show you around Sandgem Town; I'm a visitor too" he chuckled "but I think I can welcome you to Sinnoh in general."

"How do you know we're not from around here?" Haku enquired.

Riley cocked his head, considering. "I just can tell," he said with a smile. "Also, Lucario feels you three are fairly vibrating with nervous energy."

"So your Lucario can sense our emotions?" Minato asked. If this Riley wanted to talk, he would be happy to learn as much from him as he could.

"All Lucario can," the man answered. "It's an interesting ability of theirs. So, young Minato, why were you skulking about in the woods?" The fractional widening of his smile took any edge off the words.

The three boys turned to look at each other. "Well?" Minato asked.

"We have nothing to lose," Haku pointed out. Kimimaro shrugged in agreement.

The Yellow Flash steeled himself, and turned back to look at Riley. "We're not just unfamiliar with this place; we have never seen or heard of this place until we woke up to find ourselves here. I don't suppose you know where Konohagakure is?"

Riley's eyebrows went up. "I have no knowledge of such a place."

"Then you don't know where Wave Country is either?" Haku asked.

"No."

"Well, we are truly lost," Minato concluded. "We are in a strange place with odd animals, stuck in the bodies of eleven-year-old children, with no idea whatsoever what we are doing here."

Riley seemed to have trouble taking it all in. "You are….stuck as children?"

"The last clear memory I have certainly places me at age 24," Minato replied. "Do I sound like a child to you?"

"Not quite," Riley admitted. "It's about lunchtime. I suggest we find a good place to sit down and talk this over."

"That's not a bad suggestion," Minato agreed.

* * *

><p>Sakumo opened his eyes. "I think my chakra's pretty okay," he said to Fuu. They had realised further exploration of this unfamiliar forest would go much better if they were certain they were in fit state to fight, which included their ability to use chakra. So the two had sat down to meditate, with Fuu careful to maintain a distance from him. Sakumo had only privately noted that she did not simply leave.<p>

Seated across from him in the same cross-legged position, Fuu looked at him. He was shocked to see uncertainty and a dozen subtle emotions flickering in that orange gaze. "I'm….I'm normal," she whispered, evidently trying to crush the odd feeling in her voice.

Well aware of Fuu's paranoid nature by now, even if he had known her but an hour, Sakumo was careful not to make any gesture that could be misconstrued. "What's the matter?" was all he said, in his best neutral tone.

The girl did not seem to hear him. "You're gone….the Seven-Tails is _gone_," she murmured in a wary, _hopeful_ manner that seemed almost painful.

He was a smart man, and worked it out quickly enough. Along with all the implications. "That's good," he said softly.

Something about his tone snapped Fuu out of her reverie. "You act like you know what I'm talking about," she said. It sounded like a question.

Sakumo thought about it for a moment. Well, wherever he was, it wasn't Konoha. It likely wasn't even anywhere nearby. He had died, that was for sure, whatever he was now. All that was past now. Over and done with.

"They avoided you," he stated simply, with the air of one person saying to another what they both already know. "They wouldn't talk to you. If they did, it was anger and insults. They would rather you had died."

Fuu nodded. "How did you know?"

"There was an important mission I was tasked with," Sakumo explained. The regret and pain was a distant feeling, now that he had finally broken away. "It went wrong. I chose the safety of my teammates over the completion of the mission. It hurt the village, what I did. Even my comrades…."

The former jinchuuriki shrugged. "I don't see why you even bothered in the first place," she spat bitterly.

"I'm not sure why I bothered either," Sakumo commented sadly. "Not anymore."

* * *

><p>"Straight ahead," Hizashi confirmed, the veins on either side of his eyes clearly outlined. "Do we move in quickly, or take a slower approach?"<p>

"We don't want to appear hostile," Hashirama remarked. "I don't suppose you recognise either person?" They were moving briskly, but only Tobirama and Itachi had chosen to try their legs at travelling through the trees. Neither had fallen yet, though both were obviously putting more effort into it than people of their calibre should need to.

"I don't, Hokage-sama," Hizashi confirmed. "Both appear to be about our current age, ten or so-they've noticed us!"

The Konoha shinobi picked up their pace, dashing into the clearing and quickly surrounding the two. Everyone dropped into fighting stances, doing their best to appear confident and powerful. Given that they appeared to be a group of pre-teens, this did not work particularly well.

"We apologise for startling you," the First Hokage quickly said, "but we have no wish to harm you. Did you….wake up in this forest too?"

"So what if we did?" the girl replied, orange eyes glowering at him.

Beside her, the white-haired boy raised his eyebrows as Hiruzen stared at him. "….Kakashi?" the Third asked.

The boy's eyes widened in shock. "I'm Hatake Sakumo," he said. "You know my son?"

"I should hope I do; I'm Hokage, after all," he said wryly.

"….Sandaime Hokage-sama?"

"Sakumo, you know these people?" Fuu demanded.

"I only know the Hokage," Sakumo quickly explained. "I don't recognise any of these others. Who are you?" he addressed them in general.

The girl's eyebrows went up.

"Senju Hashirama," the First introduced himself with a friendly smile. "This is my brother, Tobirama. That's Hyuuga Hizashi, and Uchiha Itachi. Although I must say, I never met them before either."


	3. It's All About Location

Two new chapters, written in the course of revising for exams XD.

* * *

><p>O.O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Three: It's All About Location<span>

One man and three boys sat down in a quiet corner of Sandgem Town's Pokémon Centre with a box full of assorted onigiri and a lot of questions at hand.

"What is a Pokémon Centre?" Kimimaro asked, examining a dappled green riceball before biting into it. "Hm, seaweed."

"You take you Pokémon here when they are injured," Riley said with an air of stating the obvious, picking a pale pinkish onigiri from the box. "Nurse Joy can deal with almost anything."

"Humour us," Minato replied wryly. "We're just lost little kids in a strange land. What are Pokémon, pray tell?"

Riley's eyebrows had shot upwards, but his expression smoothed quickly. "Let's see, how do I put it... they're a type of lifeform native to this world. Pokémon are an integral part of our lives; we can't really imagine not having Pokémon." He grinned crookedly. "They can be just friendly companions, but most tend to become active partners of one sort or another, in work, Trainer Battles..."

"You use Pokémon to fight?" Haku asked.

"It's a way for Trainers and Pokémon to test their skills and teamwork," Riley explained. He had somehow polished off the salmon riceball in between bursts of talking, and now rolled a second, brown-speckled one between his fingers. "Most kids your age, erm, that is to say, ten or eleven years old, like to spend a couple of years travelling the region as Pokémon Trainers before actually settling down to what they want to do with their lives. Most spend quite a few years at it, even, exploring the other regions. Some make it their career – like I have."

Minato played with the half-eaten wild mushroom onigiri in his hands, then quickly scrambled to consume the loose rice grains before he dropped the whole mess. "So...Lucario is a Pokémon?"

Riley nodded, the corner of his mouth turning up at Minato's interest. "Yes, he is."

"Erm..." Haku half-raised a hand uncertainly. "Do Pokémon or Trainers die in these battles?"

The man was extremely shocked by this suggestion, naturally. He stared at them for a very long while.

"I take it that's a no?" Minato enquired.

Riley drew in a deep breath, and let it out again, trying to regain his composure. "...What kind of world do you three come from?" he eventually asked.

They traded another look.

* * *

><p>Dawn and Lucas, according to their mother, were twins. In the three shinobi's opinion, aside from the familial resemblance, the two did not appear to share any common point aside from good-natured tolerance of the other's antics.<p>

"Really, it's fine," Lucas insisted, as Nawaki took the lead in trying to refuse politely.

"It's no trouble at all, dears," his mother put in with a smile. "Their father and uncle are busy at the research centre, and really, we couldn't finish it all ourselves."

Dawn just rolled her eyes as the trio were persuaded into accepting.

"You're new Pokémon Trainers here to ask Professor Rowan for help with getting starter Pokémon, aren't you?" she guessed, as they all sat down to a lunch of rice, vegetables and grilled fish.

"Yes, we're new to it," Yahiko agreed, even as he frantically tried to puzzle out the meanings behind her words.

"We saw you training with your Pokémon earlier, did we not?" Utakata remarked, the first part of her words having clicked with their earlier observations.

"Yeah, we were," Lucas said with some surprise. "I've got a Turtwig, he's a Grass-Type Pokémon," he elaborated between bites of his food. "Got him from the Professor last week. I think he's still got one more, we could take you there later."

"That would be nice," Nawaki tentatively agreed. "What other Pokémon does he have?"

"I think there's also a spare Chimchar; Dawn has one," Lucas replied. "Fire-Type, just like she is," he joked.

"Fire is super-effective against Grass," Dawn pointed out with a superior air.

"Get a Piplup, if you don't think Water-Types are lame," Lucas jumped back in. "Then you'll beat her for sure. Shellos are definitely lame, though. Like, come on, it's a slug. A sea slug, but still."

"And what is weak against a Water-Type?" Utakata quietly asked, finishing the last mouthful of rice in his bowl.

Lucas laughed nervously. "Water doesn't like Grass," Dawn answered with a smug smile, elbowing her brother. "Smart of you to notice. Electric-Types are strong against Water too."

Yahiko tapped his chopsticks against his bowl thoughtfully. "Why do you want to be a Pokémon Trainer, Lucas?"

The other boy stared at him incredulously. "Why? It's obvious! I want to become the Pokémon League Champion!"

"How do you plan to do that?" Nawaki asked.

Dawn looked at him. "Are you sure you're a Trainer?" she scoffed.

"That's not nice, Dawn," Lucas cut it again. "It's a long road, I guess," he said to Nawaki. "I gotta challenge and beat all eight Gym Leaders first, then take on the other aspiring Trainers so I can face the Elite Four, and finally the reigning Champion. But if I do that, I'm gonna be famous, yeah!" He laughed.

"Unless I get there first," Dawn shot back.

"So….you just want to be famous?" Yahiko wondered.

"It's not just being famous." Lucas looked a bit more serious for the first time since the conversation started. "It proves I'm the best at working with my Pokémon, see. You need good rapport with your Pokémon, really understand what they can do, to win battles. Actually, after I become Champion, I think I'm coming back to help Professor Rowan with his Pokémon research."

They finished their food soon after that, and having cleaned up, Yahiko reminded Lucas that he had promised to show them his map, and the boy quickly dashed upstairs, to return with a square of glossy paper in hand, unfolding it to reveal a vaguely diamond-shaped island with several smaller islands around it. A mountain bisected the main island into two parts, and various towns could be seen marked on it.

"This whole region is Sinnoh, of course," Lucas happily declared. "That's Twinleaf Town, where we are" he pointed to a marking in the south-west of the island "and Sandgem Town is a short walk away" he pointed to another town marking just to the right.

The three exchanged quick glances over Lucas' shoulders, then struggled to hide their dismay. No, none of them recognised this area at all.

* * *

><p>The group, now numbering seven in all, found themselves on an open path. Hizashi informed them that the remaining six were split into two sets of three, down opposite ends of the path. "There are settlements too," he said, white eyes fixed on some distant point down one end of the path. "This one is smaller."<p>

"Then we'll go there first," Hashirama decided.

Fuu scowled, but did not say anything. They had traded details of their respective backgrounds, and the First Hokage was someone to be careful around, if nothing else. Fuu had not mentioned her status as a former demon host, and Sakumo had let her be, so she was just the lone Takigakure nin, and the sole kunoichi. Which was quite enough to set her apart, in her opinion, so she would much prefer not to draw further attention.

She had thought of leaving, of course. But being alone in a strange land, without the power of a bijuu in her veins, did not appeal; not that having the Seven-Tails had made much difference last time, and that had even been specifically the reason she was attacked. And Sakumo was an interesting character, anyhow.

So since there appeared to be no immediate threat posed by these Konoha-nin, or any hostility against her yet, she would hang around and see what they did. Which, right now, was tracking down others who might have arrived the same way they had.

Twinleaf Town appeared to be a peaceful, pretty place to live. The houses, simple but welcoming, evidently had occupants that agreed with this sentiment. They had paused, as Hashirama wondered if they should knock on the door, when the door flew open and several eleven-year-olds piled out.

"Friends of yours, Yahiko?" the boy with short black hair exclaimed, smiling widely. The Shodai Hokage, however, had eyes only for the brown-haired boy.

His grandson had been much younger, the few times he had seen him, but this boy before him looked so much like his mother, Hashirama's daughter-in-law, and there could be no mistaking it. "Nawaki?"

Nawaki stared in shock. Recognition did not light up his face, and belatedly Hashirama realised why. "It's Grandfather," he said. "Remember? I gave your sister the necklace-"

The boy leapt forward, grabbing him around the waist in a tight hug. "It's you?" he whispered weakly.

Mindful of the civilians watching, Hashirama gently loosened his grandson's grip, freeing a hand, which he lifted to chest height, Nawaki's body shielding it from their sight. A little twig sprouted from the tip of one finger, complete with tiny spring-green leaf.

Standing beside Nawaki, Yahiko saw the move too, correctly deduced that the two certainly knew each other, and realised someone had to explain the other, more obvious parts of the scene to Lucas and Dawn. "Nawaki, you didn't say your friends were coming to join us," he said.

"We hadn't decided to come, at first," Tobirama replied cheerfully. "But we couldn't help ourselves."

Lucas grinned. "The more the merrier," he declared. "I'm sure Professor Rowan has enough Pokémon for all of you. Hang on, why'd you call him 'Grandfather'?"

"Because he talks and acts like an old man, Lucas" Nawaki answered, doing some very quick thinking on the spot. "No family relation, but we're really great friends. I invited them to come along with us to get their first Pokémon partners too, but I didn't know they really were coming; this is quite a surprise for me too."

The assembled shinobi quickly caught the subtle hints, or at least the important ideas. "Come on, let's go," Nawaki continued, for all the world a normal eleven-year-old. "You can introduce yourselves to each other on the way. I've got so much to tell you about."

* * *

><p>O.O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p>I appreciate every single review, although I would prefer if said reviews consist of more than a few words ^_^.<p> 


	4. Making New Friends

A little note for this chapter onwards: I'm treating Pokémon abilities and moves in my own unique way. So they can have more than four moves, like in the show, they'll probably have abilities much like in the game, and while the sort of moves they learn will follow my Diamond/Pearl Pokedex guide book, exactly how they learn them and how things work in practice will be however I choose to handle it XD.

* * *

><p>O.O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 4: Making New Friends<span>

"Let me get this straight," Riley said. "In your world, you have a special village in each land, which trains ninja to carry out missions that are an integral part of both the economy and the defence of the village and country. Your kind of ninja doesn't just play at being sneaky; you have any number of techniques that rival the abilities of Pokémon, and you basically get out and about and kill each other."

"A crude description, but sufficiently accurate for the purposes of this discussion," Minato muttered in reply, somewhat disgruntled.

"Well, it's not like I don't believe you," Riley sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Although the part about you dying and winding up here is a little far-fetched, but I have no better explanation for how I just saw Kimimaro turn his arm bones into weapons."

"You seem to be taking all this rather well," Haku observed.

"Oh, people who can use abilities like Pokémon do aren't unheard of," the man said with a crooked grin. "I'm an Aura user. Aura is, I suppose, about the equivalent of your chakra. I can feel other people's auras – that's how I knew you were foreign – and I can use my own aura too. Nothing quite as spectacular as what you've told me, but I'm still working on it. The ability to sense the Aura is rare among humans, though. I'm the only one I know."

They shrugged. "So what are we going to do now?" Kimimaro asked.

"Well, you three are going to be in much trouble if nobody helps you out with getting to know how things work around here." Riley smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. The talk of assassinations and wars had been unnerving. "I don't actually have anywhere I need to be; I only happened to be in the area because Professor Rowan expressed an interest in taking a look at my Riolu. So I suppose you can tag along on my explorations….and I'd be happy to introduce you to Sinnoh."

"We would appreciate any and all help very much," Minato told him, inclining his head.

"You're welcome," Riley said, smiling sincerely now. "Although I must say: It's a bit unsettling, to see three children sitting before me, and yet feel the auras of world-weary adults."

* * *

><p>"So the odd yellow duck I saw earlier is a Pokémon?" Tobirama whispered.<p>

"I would think so," Sakumo muttered in reply. "You look like the Second Hokage, you know."

"Because I _am_," the other boy retorted indignantly.

"My apologies, Nidaime-sama." Yahiko, Nawaki and Utakata had conveyed, by whispered conversations with the new arrivals, what information they had learned, under cover of a louder conversation with Lucas and Dawn. They hadn't exactly gotten around to introducing themselves to everyone, though, since they were supposed to know each other already.

So far, they had more-or-less established that any and all weird animals were what the locals called Pokémon, that anyone who kept and trained Pokémon was a Trainer, and that they themselves were now supposed to be aspiring Trainers looking to get their first Pokémon. The idea that they were not anywhere near the Five Nations – and were supposed to all be dead – was more worrying, but it didn't look like there was much to be done about it for now.

Lucas and Dawn seemed to have assumed they came from another region, thus treating their non-recognition of the local species of Pokémon as acceptable. Thankfully, Nawaki was proving to be quite the master of deflecting awkward questions.

"What kind of Pokémon did you have, back in your hometown?" Dawn asked. Nawaki shrugged.

"It's actually a little like around here. A couple of common bird Pokémon, a few bugs, fish in the water….."

Lucas laughed. "There's just something amusing about the way you say things sometimes, Nawaki," he noted. "I like you. Okay, here we are. People, Sandgem Town. Sandgem Town, people."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "That's Professor Rowan's research laboratory," she said, pointing out the large two-storey building. "Our father and uncle work there as assistants."

Lucas grinned, pushing the double doors open and walking right in. "Professor Rowan!"

An old man with a shaggy head of grey and white hair looked up from a nearby table. "I see you've brought some friends, Lucas," he observed gruffly. "From out of town?"

"Yep!" The boy was obviously quite pleased with himself. "They wanna be Trainers too. Can you give Utakata a Turtwig, please?"

"I haven't got quite so many Pokémon on hand, you know," the professor dryly replied, eyes roving over the group. "And some kids already came by this morning. Unless you want to wait a week, some of you shall have to go out and catch your own; borrow your friend's Pokémon for that, I could give you a free Pokéball or two to help you out."

"That's alright, Professor Rowan," Hashirama said politely. "We don't mind."

The old man stood; he had broad shoulders and stood rather tall, and was very fit for a man of his age. "Good lad," he said with a nod. "Well, follow me."

They went into an inner room, where a number of red-and-white balls sat nestled comfortably in a tray lined with some soft material, on a table set along one wall. Benches and chairs were the only other furniture around, and the floor was covered with a large, deep blue rug. Rowan picked up one, and depressed the button on the front. A small, blue bird with white markings and an oversized head appeared in a swirl of white light. It peeped in alarm at the sight of the dozen or so children eyeing it keenly, but stood its ground.

"Piplup tend to be bold like that," the professor explained. "Well, go ahead, let the Pokémon out and take a look at them. You're Trainers now, you should get used to handling them." He stood aside, clearly intending to merely observe.

The shinobi glanced at each other. Yahiko broke the tense moment, striding forward and taking one of the odd summoning tools, pressing the button as he pointed the device at a clear patch of floor.

A second Piplup materialised.

Yahiko shrugged, approaching the Pokémon. "Hey, little fellow," he said softly. "You look adorable."

The Piplup seemed to take offence at this, and opened its beak, spraying a jet of shimmering blue bubbles at him. The Ame-nin quickly dodged, and the attack impacted against the wall with a resounding series of thuds. "Bubble," Lucas said with a wide smile.

"You don't say," Yahiko replied sarcastically, watching the Piplup carefully.

"Bubble is the name of the move," Lucas explained, as the Piplup eyed Yahiko with shock in its dark sapphire eyes.

"What, surprised your attack missed?" Yahiko asked it. "Gotta move faster than that. Maybe I can teach you," he offered.

The Pokémon looked at the orange-haired boy, then waddled forward, jumping up at him. Yahiko, on an impulse, caught the bird instead of avoiding the possible attack. The Piplup peeped happily, wriggled around so it could look at the others, and tipped its beak upwards in an obvious show of superiority.

Hashirama and Hiruzen looked at each other, shrugged, and walked over to the tray of Pokéballs.

* * *

><p>It had been decided that Minato, Haku and Kimimaro ought to have Pokémon of their own. Given that nothing was certain now, and that they would prefer to keep a low profile, which meant no ninjutsu, Pokémon would offer a degree of protection, as well as help them blend in, as just three more pre-teens out to explore the world.<p>

Their appointed guide to the Sinnoh region had suggested they go to Professor Rowan's, but they had barely reached the building when he shook his head. "There seems to be a lot of people in there," he said. "I'd say the professor's out of Pokémon for the day. Well, we'll just go out and catch some ourselves."

"Generally, catching a Pokémon involves battling with it until it's weakened, then capturing it within a Pokéball," Riley explained to them, as they stood at the edge of the forest just outside Sandgem Town. "If the Pokémon doesn't break out, it's acknowledged you as its new owner. You'll need a temporary Pokémon to use for the battling, so... Riolu, I require your assistance!" He tossed a Pokéball, releasing what seemed to be a younger version of the Lucario they had seen earlier, with minor differences.

Minato dropped to one knee to get a good look at the creature. "Can a Riolu sense Aura too?"

"Not half as well, but yes," Riley told them. "This particular one is female, by the way, and knows Force Palm already."

"Force Palm is an attack move?" Haku asked.

"Quite right. It's a good Fighting-Type move, and can sometimes cause paralysis in the opponent. Let's go find us a Pokémon, shall we? I find it easier to explain things when I'm in the thick of it."

The three students of sorts spread out, stepping quietly through the woods, while Riley and the Riolu followed at a distance with some bemusement. There was a sudden rustling sound, and a muffled exclamation. "This little beaver looks adorable," Haku called softly.

"Oh, a Bidoof," Riley observed. The brown-furred Pokémon pricked up its ears, dark eyes watching them with interest. "Would you like to come with me?" Haku asked it. The Bidoof cocked its head, almost as though it was thinking.

"Wait, they understand what we're saying?" Minato wondered.

"I think they do get the gist of it," their guide remarked. "Some more so than others. My Lucario always understands me just fine, while I will admit the Pinsir has trouble with complex instructions."

The Bidoof appeared to had come to a decision, and growled confidently. "You want to know if I'm a good Trainer to follow," Haku surmised, evidently having no problem with talking to an animal. A weird animal capable of using jutsu better than most summons, but still. "Alright. Riolu, help me out and use... uh, what attacks can a Riolu use?"

"This one can do Quick Attack, Force Palm, Counter," Riley counted off his fingers. "Agility, Low Kick, Counter, Foresight, Detect. I'd say, from what you've all told me, that people of your world have to be pretty quick on the uptake." He gave another crooked grin. "You figure out what those moves do."

Haku nodded, turning back to the Bidoof, who waited expectantly. "Riolu, Quick Attack!"

The lithe hound-like creature dashed at the Bidoof, using its own body for a battering ram. The beaver allowed itself to be bowled over, then planted its feet, growled – the Riolu hesitated – and tackled its opponent. The two went down in a tangle of paws and fur.

"Counter, Riolu?" Haku said calmly. The Riolu proceeded to use the momentum from being knocked over to push the Bidoof off her, then, glowing a faint red, delivered a sharp blow with her forepaws that sent the beaver Pokémon scrambling backwards.

Riley slipped a red-and-white sphere into Haku's hand. Without hesitation, Haku pressed the button and threw it. The Bidoof vanished into the Pokéball in a flash of light.

The ball lay on the ground, emitting a soft beeping sound as it vibrated, the button on the front flashing red. They all held their breaths.

With a final shudder, the Pokéball stilled, the light going out. Nobody spoke for a moment.

"Congratulations, Haku," Minato said, clapping his fellow shinobi on the shoulder, while Kimimaro just smiled. Riley nodded, pleased, as Haku picked up the ball.

He released the Bidoof, picking it up in his arms. "Are you a girl?... Or a boy?" The Bidoof gently butted Haku with its head on the second question, and Haku nodded happily. "So you are a boy. I refuse to simply call you Bidoof, so from now on you shall be White Water." The Bidoof butted him with its head again.

* * *

><p>Kimimaro's first recruiting attempts did not go quite so smoothly. Riolu accidentally knocked out the first Starly they encountered – "it'll recover, no worries," Riley reassured them – while the second fled rather than do battle. On a slightly more positive note, they worked out that Force Palm was actually a pretty powerful move for the Pokémon in the area.<p>

A plaintive cry interrupted their light talk. What looked like a brown bipedal lizard of some sort, wearing a skull over its head, toddled clumsily into view. Seeing them, it simply stumbled to a halt, rocking back on its tail, and gave another sad cry.

"Cubone," Riley answered their unasked question. "I didn't think we would see one this far from Oreburgh Gate, though."

"It's lost," Kimimaro said quietly, crouching in front of it. "Why does it wear a skull on its head?"

Riley shrugged. "There's a myth that Cubone wear the skulls of their dead parents on their heads. I think they're either just exceedingly shy, and hide their faces with the first thing they can find, or they're trying to imitate their evolved form Marowak, which has a white head in contrast with the similarly brown body. Perhaps both."

Minato scratched his head in puzzlement. "But why bones? That's so...morbid." The Cubone gave a peep that might have been indignation.

"It's a Cubone thing." Riley gave another shrug. "It's a habit of the Cubone family Pokémon to play with bones, and they become skilled at using those bones as weapons."

"That's interesting," Kimimaro murmured. "Little one, you use bones, do you? I do too." He grew out one of his forearm bones, keeping both ends round, and offered it to the Cubone. The Pokémon's eyes, barely visible through the eyeholes in the skull, widened in surprise, and it gave a squeak, but grabbed the offered bone. It swung the bone experimentally, then ran into the boy's hold, skull rattling as it did so.

He stood up, holding the Cubone carefully. "Do you want to come with me?" he asked it. "There's nothing to be scared of out there, as long as you know what you're doing." The Cubone whacked him on the arm with his bone, then curled up comfortably in his grip. "Can I put you in a Pokéball?" The creature did not twitch, and Kimimaro awkwardly shifted the Cubone to one arm, taking the ball with his free hand and triggering it.

The Pokéball shook for barely a couple of moments before stilling. He was just about to pick it up, though, when the Cubone burst from the ball, used its new bone weapon to hit him on the leg, then jumped up into his arms again. "Some Pokémon do that," Riley told them. "They just don't like being cooped up inside, and break out on their own. I think he's acknowledged you as his Trainer, though." He helped Kimimaro slip the Pokéball inside his jacket pocket. "The ball is marked as Cubone's now, anyway, so you just keep it, in case you need it."

"Mm." Kimimaro replied, absorbed in thought. "Would you like the name Ash? For the tree, that is?" he said to the Cubone. The Cubone did not react. "Ash it is."

* * *

><p>Nawaki cuddled the little brown fox in his arms. "What is it?" he asked.<p>

"She's an Eevee," the professor told him. "They're difficult to find, but can be lively companions. Some researchers find them fascinating; an Eevee can evolve into any one of seven different forms depending on conditions."

Having been treated to a brief discourse on evolving a Turtwig by Lucas, this concept was thankfully not a complete unknown to him. "Wow. What kind of forms?"

Meanwhile, Tobirama was having a staring contest with the remaining Piplup. His student resisted the urge to roll his eyes, as his own chosen Pokémon, a male Chimchar, perched on his left shoulder, chattering happily.

Utakata sat with a Shellos. It was blue, and trimmed with yellow, and it was a slug, just as Lucas had said. He didn't have anything against slugs, as a matter of fact; it was appropriate, even, given the form the Six-Tails took. And this little one, who was producing as odd crooning sound as it rubbed its head on his knee, was rather adorable, actually.

Hashirama sat watching the ongoings, gently patting the Turtwig on his lap. The shoot growing from its head rather reminded him of himself.

Sakumo had taken to a Shinx, and it now ran between him and Fuu, growling playfully in their faces. The girl didn't mind at all; animals, unlike people, were easier to deal with, and far more to her liking. Animals would not hate her for no good reason.

Itachi and Hizashi looked on in amicable silence. Both had concluded that they could wait to go out and find ones of their own.

Tobirama finally won the staring contest by leaning forward abruptly, startling the Piplup, who fell backwards and thus broke eye contact. It squeaked indignantly, but allowed him to scoop it up in an one-armed hug and ruffle the feathers on its head.

* * *

><p>"Erm..." Minato shifted. The others looked at him. "Where do you find wild Riolu and Lucario?"<p>

"Mount Coronet," Riley replied. "But that's quite a way off, you know. And they're notoriously difficult to find, even then." He considered, tapping his fingers on his hip. "Do you promise to take good care of my Riolu?" he suddenly asked.

"What-Wait, you're giving her to me?" Minato's jaw dropped. "Oh, you don't have to-"

"I don't mind, really." Riley looked amused. "I think she'll have an interesting life with you. Well?"

Minato got his surprise under control, looking down at the Riolu standing between them. "I will do my best to take good care of her, I promise" he declared solemnly.

"Good enough for me." Riley nodded. He handed him a Pokéball. Minato looked at it for a moment, then knelt down to look the Riolu in the eye. "Will you be my partner?" he addressed the Riolu gravely, who nodded equally seriously. "I name you Blue Shadow," he continued, standing up and tossing the Pokéball. The newly christened Riolu disappeared into it, and the ball shook just once in his hand before falling still.


	5. Tying Off Loose Ends

Chapter 5: Tying Off Loose Ends

Having convinced Lucas that they had arrangements for accommodation of their own, Yahiko and Nawaki waved them off home, while the others of their group watched in bemusement. The moment the two civilian children were out of sight, the shinobi disappeared into the woods. It was late afternoon, getting to evening; they were unlikely to meet any more locals for today, and frankly they did not want to. There was already so much to take in.

Hizashi was the group's appointed scout by this point, and he quickly located a freshwater stream, as well as confirmed that the three other persons they had yet to track down were still in the vicinity of Sandgem Town. Tobirama and Itachi were dispatched to find them.

Hashirama had a chance to test his current strength, as it was observed that the forest here hardly provided sufficient cover for anything bigger than a fox. A thicket of trees concealing a few low, simple shelters were formed in short order, though the effort took more out of the Shodai than he would have liked. He sat leaning against a tree, watching as the others moved to clear away signs of their trail and search for food.

They had learned of the strange varieties of fruit to be found in this land – world, they were strongly suspecting by this point – and what they did for Pokémon. Interestingly, and of greater immediate importance, humans could eat them too. The idea of killing and eating a Pokémon, meanwhile, was apparently a taboo on par with cannibalism; Lucas had regarded Yahiko's remark as a joke in bad taste. They would have to see if there were normal animals around here.

Hizashi approached Hashirama, standing before him stiffly. "Shodai-sama."

He might have been First Hokage, but right now Hashirama really did not feel like sticking to formalities. "Just sit down and rest, Hizashi-san," he told him. "You've been of great assistance already today."

"Thank you, Shodai-sama." Hizashi sat down cross-legged, hands clasped before him. "I know it's not my place to question..." he began softly.

"You are a Main House Hyuuga," Hashirama retorted sharply, though with no real force behind the words. "Of course you may ask a question of me. Your clan does highly value courtesy," he chuckled.

The other man stilled, one eyebrow raised. "Main House?" He lifted a hand to his forehead, as though he could feel if the cursed seal was there.

"You are unmarked," the First assured him. "We saw no seal from the moment we met you, and simply assumed you were Main House. But please, don't think I will treat you any differently. We're all in the same situation here."

Hizashi nodded, at a loss for words. "Thank you," he said eventually.

"Now, what was it you wanted to ask me about?" Hashirama prompted.

"The other, non-Konoha nin, Hokage-sama," Hizashi replied. "Are we sure they can be relied upon?"

"In terms of skill, or loyalties?"

"... Both."

The Shodai Hokage sighed. It was like negotiating with the clans all over again. Except that thankfully this was just between a few individuals. "I would prefer to know them better," he admitted, his gaze moving over the other displaced shinobi. "Perhaps we should each tell the rest a little about ourselves. It would be best if we could work together properly; I have a feeling we'll be sticking together for a long while yet."

"And how will we account for the disparities in positions, Hokage-sama?"

Hashirama glanced back at Hizashi. "You're sharp," he said with approval. "Hmm... Yes, we have three persons here with the title of Hokage, which might create issues, and likely anyone who isn't from Konoha will resent taking instructions from us; I think they've only gone along so far because none of them have better ideas.

"Well, no one else needs to know that you're supposed to be Branch House. Unless you choose to tell them. I think when my brother and the Uchiha return, hopefully with new friends, and we've settled the issue of dinner, the leadership issue should be addressed, at any rate."

* * *

><p>A Pokémon Centre also offered temporary lodging for travelling Trainers, apparently. That latest detail settled, Riley and his 'young' students decided dinner was their next priority. Whoever had outfitted Minato and the others hadn't thought to give them money, which resulted in an awkward pause when they realised the three were going to be living off Riley's money until they found a source of income.<p>

"I don't mind, personally," Riley chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "But I imagine it's uncomfortable for you. Well, you could offer to do odd jobs for people... Wait, I know just the thing!"

So, after finishing their food, they hurried over to the research lab to find Professor Rowan. Thankfully, the man was still in, finishing up on the work he hadn't managed to complete earlier that afternoon. "Wait, just one thing," Riley whispered to Minato. "Do you mind if I tell him about you? It might come up."

"If you think it's alright," Minato replied.

Riley nodded, turning to the professor. "Professor Rowan, meet Minato, Haku, and Kimimaro. Remember that PokéDex project you mentioned to me this morning?"

"The one about having new Trainers with little or no prior knowledge of Pokémon undertake to make their own observations on Pokémon?" Rowan's eyebrows went up. "You will recall I said I couldn't find any such persons... Do you mean that these three children you have brought with you...?"

"That's right," Riley replied cheerfully. "I can promise that before this afternoon, they didn't even know Pokémon existed."

* * *

><p>"Three newcomers to town?" the pink-haired lady at the counter repeated. "Oh, yes. They left for dinner not too long ago."<p>

"What did they look like?" Tobirama asked. "I think they might be friends of ours." Behind him, Itachi looked around, taking in the place with customary wariness.

"One had white hair," she began, assuming a thoughtful look. "He looked so serious, the boy, but he can't have been more than twelve or so. There was a black-haired one too, I'm really not sure if the black-haired one was a boy or girl." Tobirama raised an eyebrow at this. "The blond-haired one was definitely a boy. He had rather bright blue eyes, and he was quite polite too, although his hair stuck up everywhere. They left with a gentleman in a blue suit. Riley, I think he said his name was."

"Thank you very much," Tobirama said, and the two shinobi left the 'Pokémon Centre'. "Do you recognise any of those descriptions?" the Nidaime asked his partner. "I don't."

"I would have said the blond boy sounds like a description of Uzumaki Naruto, Nidaime-sama," Itachi murmured in reply. "But he is not the type to be polite. Loud, certainly."

"Uzumaki?" Tobirama asked. He was familiar with members of the clan; his brother had married one, after all.

"I know nothing of his family," Itachi said apologetically. "He was – _is_ – an orphan as far as I am aware. He is also the current host of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, but far from being lonely and hated, he is a very bold, headstrong individual who cares for his friends. I have met him when he was in the company of Jiraiya of the Sannin, who was the student of the Sandaime Hokage, and also with a jonin named Hatake Kakashi."

"Sakumo mentioned he had a son named Kakashi," Tobirama recalled. "And it seems I must find time to ask my student about his exploits. But that is besides the point. I suppose all we can do is look around until we hear of a Riley or see someone looking like your Naruto. At least the descriptions match with what Hizashi told us."

It was some minutes before they stumbled across the eatery where the four males must have gone for dinner, going by the description the owner gave. "They headed that way," the man said helpfully, pointing. "Just missed them by a few minutes."

They doubled back through the town – really, how long could it take to search a settlement of two dozen buildings for a mere four persons? Then Tobirama bit back a curse as he remembered. "I can just sense for their chakra. What have I been doing?" he groaned. Itachi tactfully remained silent, as the Nidaime dropped to one knee, touching a finger to the ground.

They now headed confidently for the research building they had visited just that afternoon. Slipping in the door quietly, they quickly noted the voices coming from one of the offices. Taking up positions either side of the door, Tobirama and Itachi listened and waited.

* * *

><p>"That is...unusual," the professor said slowly. "Where do you come from?" he addressed the trio.<p>

"Would you believe us if we said we were from another world?" Haku answered.

"Oh?" The man's gaze sharpened.

"We can prove it," Minato said simply, bringing his hands together to form an odd gesture. A much taller man appeared in his place with a swirl of white smoke, wearing a white cloak with a red flame pattern along the hem, over a green flak jacket and blue clothes. He had a headband set with a metal piece, with a stylized leaf symbol engraved in the polished metal, and the same spiky blond hair and blue eyes.

"The older you?" Riley asked with a small smile.

"Yes. This is a transformation technique," Minato explained, his voice older than it had been previously. "The effect is merely temporary."

Kimimaro read aloud the kanji on the back of his cloak. "Yondaime Hokage. You didn't mention that."

"You were a leader – a Kage – of one of those...hidden villages?" Riley put in.

"I didn't think this information was necessary and relevant," Minato replied, dispelling the technique. "Especially since my position means almost nothing here."

"You're sure he isn't an Aura user like you, Riley?" Rowan remarked. He seemed unruffled. "Well, wherever they're from, as long as they can help with my project and not mess up Sinnoh..."

"You're taking it rather calmly," Kimimaro remarked suspiciously.

"One grows accustomed to unusual phenomena, after spending a lifetime studying Pokémon who do everything from breathing fire to warping dimensions," Rowan said with a shrug.

"Well, in any case, what is this PokéDex project, and what does it have to do with us?" Minato asked, getting the conversation back on track.

"Keep it simple," Riley told the researcher with a grin. "They really are foreign."

"I recently considered what it would be like for a fresh eye to look at Pokémon," he explained. "Many of us are building on the knowledge of those before, so I thought it would be an interesting exercise to have someone unfamiliar with Pokémon give his own interpretations of his observations, without prior knowledge to predetermine his opinion. Unfortunately, most people already have a good deal of established knowledge about Pokémon by the time they become a Trainer."

"Which is where we come in," Haku noted.

"A PokéDex is a handheld device for records of information concerning Pokémon," Riley explained. "Usually they are encyclopedias of a sort, a convenient reference for Types, movesets, the like. What Professor Rowan will do is give you a blank PokéDex, which you can use for recording your own observations."

"I'd be happy to provide an allowance to help with travel and such, of course," the professor added. Minato caught Riley's eye, the corner of his mouth quirking up in an amused smile. "So, how about it?"

"We would be happy to help you with it," Minato said.

"I guess that means from now on, I have to stop telling you everything about the Pokémon we encounter," Riley commented with a chuckle. "Unbiased account and all."

Kimimaro's head jerked around to look at the door.

* * *

><p>Tobirama was just wondering if they had heard him bump the doorknob by accident when the door was suddenly flung open, and he found himself pinned to the wall with a white, sharp weapon pointed at his throat. A brief scuffle and a thud sounded, and Tobirama peered over his attacker's shoulder to see Itachi flat on the ground with a white-haired boy sitting on him, holding a similar weapon over his neck. A light pricking at his own throat directed his attention back to the blue-eyed boy who was holding the weapon on him. "You look like the Second Hokage," the boy observed.<p>

"People have _got_ to stop saying that," Tobirama groaned. "I _am_ Hokage, dang it. I don't suppose people keep saying you look like Uzumaki Naruto?"

"I think it would usually be the other way around, since he's my son."

The Senju had to admit, he didn't see that answer coming.

* * *

><p>"So, why were you spying on us, anyway?" Minato asked.<p>

They sat in Professor Rowan's office, while the professor himself was off making final adjustments to the PokéDex, and Riley sat aside, watching with interest.

"You weren't the only ones to wake up in the forest," Tobirama replied. "Quite a few of us found each other, and one of them is a Hyuuga; your chakra signatures stand out amongst all these civilians – no offence, Riley."

"None taken," the man replied.

"You have an interesting...presence, by the way, but that's not the issue right now," Tobirama waved a hand, dismissing it for the moment. "After we sorted ourselves out, the First Hokage sent Itachi and I out to find the three of you."

Minato raised an eyebrow. "I don't suppose the Third is here too?"

"He is with us. Why?"

"Oh."

"You seem upset, Minato-sama," Haku remarked.

"He better have left a good person in charge as the Fifth," Minato sighed.

"_Fifth?_" Tobirama asked.

"Wait, you mean you lot aren't up to date on each other's ongoings?" Riley remarked.

"Tobirama Senju was dead before I was born," Minato told him by way of explanation. "He was Second Hokage." He turned back to Tobirama. "I'm the Fourth. I died young, though, so I think the Third stepped back in until he found a replacement. At least, I would certainly hope so."

A number of dots connected. "Would your death have anything to do with why Itachi told me Naruto is a jinchuuriki?"

Minato went still. "Yes."

"You'll have to explain things sometime." Tobirama shrugged. "In my time the Kyuubi was sealed in Mito Uzumaki, my brother's wife. Now, should we go meet the others?"

The Fourth looked at his three companions. "Do you want to?"

"I'm an outsider," Riley pointed out. "I think I had best stay out of it until things settle down."

"We still have to collect the PokéDexes," Kimimaro reminded them.

"We'll be settling things with Professor Rowan first, then we'll come along and meet the rest," Minato told Tobirama. "Riley, we'll find you at the Pokémon Centre afterwards?"

* * *

><p>Haku and the others followed Tobirama through the woods. He had a new pale grey waist pouch, the silvery teal PokéDex resting within next to White's Pokéball. He wished he had some senbon, just in case; maybe Kimimaro would agree to make some for him.<p>

Tobirama led them into a particularly thick patch of trees and shrubs, where they found a rather unexpected scene waiting for them.

A number of eleven-year-old boys – likely their fellow dead-and-displaced shinobi – lay around in various positions of slumber. A single person was waiting for them, standing beside a small fire.

His long, grayish shaggy hair obscured his eyes. The dark clothes he wore hid most of his skin; the lower half of his face and his hands seemed to be an indeterminate shade of tan brown, but it was difficult to tell – the light cast by the fire was weak, throwing everything into flickering shadows. A set of beads hung around his neck, and a knife was strapped to his waist.

Haku glanced at Tobirama and Minato uncertainly, and thought he saw the colour drain from both their faces.

* * *

><p>O.O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p>I really would appreciate if people left some comments, you know... XD Just to let me know that people are actually reading this stuff.<p> 


	6. Longwinded Explanations

If anybody reading this isn't up to date past Chapter 500-something of the Naruto manga, I suggest you either decide you don't mind spoilers and go right ahead to read this chapter, or go get up to date with the manga. If you don't actually know (or care) much about Naruto beyond hearsay, this will either clear up lots of questions or give you new questions. Perhaps both.

If you don't like lengthy explanation, I can understand, but don't expect me to apologise. This is how it came out.

* * *

><p>O.O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 6: Longwinded Explanations<span>

Minato sat on the roof of one of the Shodai Hokage's wooden houses, one leg drawn up to his chest, the other dangling over the edge, as the other shinobi stood below, waiting expectantly. Riley was at the back of the crowd; Minato had suggested he come along, and learn a little about his new friend. The early morning sun shone through the trees.

"As you all know, Minato says he knows how we came to be here," Hashirama addressed the group. His brother had informed him of Minato's being the now-deceased Yondaime Hokage, but neither of them knew much more than that. He turned to look up at the blond boy. "Well, we're waiting," he informed him.

"Right," Minato began. "This is going to take a while, but I think it'll be easier if I give you the whole story instead of just the bare facts, since those will raise a lot of questions.

"For anyone who is unaware, I am Minato Namikaze, Fourth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, famed in the Third Shinobi World War as the Yellow Flash of the Leaf." He briefly transformed into his older self via the Henge no Jutsu, but even then didn't look particularly proud of his titles, delivering his words in a plain-speaking, take-it-as-you-will manner. "I have died, like all of you, as I understand, but I dare say the circumstances of my death were a little complex.

"I was made Hokage after the war, and I also got married at the time, to Kushina Uzumaki, the then jinchūriki for the Nine-Tailed Fox. I was so happy to finally be with her…." The eyebrows of three persons in the group went up. Two because they had certainly never seen such casual acceptance of one like themselves; the other because he had done near enough the same thing. "Then she got pregnant.

"The seal keeping the demon within her weakens throughout, and the Kyūbi could possibly break out during the birth. We took her away from the village, to a secret location, with guards watching over her. I myself kept watch over the seal, while Kushina fought to bring our son into the world. Our relief and joy at finally seeing Naruto was short-lived.

"A masked man broke in on us. He killed the guards, the midwife; he nearly killed Naruto." A few of them gasped softly; war-hardened shinobi they were, but to attempt to murder a newborn…. "In the split seconds it took for me to save Naruto and take him somewhere safe, he took Kushina, and extracted the Nine-Tails, placed it under his control, and set it on Konoha.

"I didn't manage to kill the masked man, though I learned something of him and injured him, sending him running. To stop the demon fox…. I couldn't simply seal all of it, not with something so powerful, so I sealed half of its chakra into my son, and the other half I sealed with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, a forbidden technique which costs the user his life and soul, in exchange for the power of the death god to use in the sealing.

"Which should have the end of it, but, ridiculous as it sounds, this" Minato waved a hand at himself "is said death god's idea of doing me a favour. A new life and all that." He paused, unsure what to say in order to convince them.

"I heard it with my own ears," Tobirama told them, walking forward and turning to face them. "I don't suppose any of you remember what happened last night after your dinner?" He grinned.

The assembled shinobi exchanged uncomfortable looks and mutters. "We decided to start eating without you, since you were gone rather a long while," Hashirama recalled. "We were about done and cleaning up…."

"And then we woke up to find it's morning," Yahiko put in. "If it weren't for the campsite and all, I'd have thought it was yesterday all over again."

"Well, we arrived to find all of you asleep and the Shinigami waiting for us," Minato stated. "A real shock, I can tell you. He deigned to answer some of our questions, though, so….yes, we were all dead. Yes, we're alive now. No, we're not in our own world anymore, and no, we're not going back. Also, and this is strictly according to him, mind, we ought to be grateful we have our memories and powers, and this is a very nice world, don't go messing it all up, and you're all here because he thought I might be lonely." He rolled his eyes.

"This is ridiculous," Kimimaro remarked softly. "But it's hardly more ridiculous than most everything about this situation" he glanced down at the Cubone in his arms "and I have no better ideas anyway. I'll take your word for it, Minato-sama."

* * *

><p>Utakata came forward. "Yondaime Hokage?"<p>

Minato slipped down from the roof to stand in front of him. "Yes? Uh, who are you?"

"My name is Utakata. You chose to make your son a jinchūriki." Utakata's voice was flat and vaguely disapproving.

"You have a problem with this, Utakata-san?"

"Yes, I do. Do you know just what you did to Naruto?" The pale gold eyes glared.

Calm blue orbs met the furious gaze, and looked away. "That's a very good question," Minato replied quietly. He looked over Utakata's shoulder to the other ninja. "Tell me, do any of you have knowledge of my son? Sandaime-sama?"

Hiruzen schooled his expression as he met Minato's questioning look, and came over to join the conversation. Behind him, almost unnoticed, Itachi slipped between the others, who had fallen into their own groups to discuss events, following the Third over. Kimimaro and Haku stood quietly behind Minato.

"I never found a suitable successor, so I remained Hokage till death," the Third told Minato. "At the time of my death, Naruto was twelve." He smiled fondly at the memories. "He has your looks, but Kushina's personality –always so active and cheerful, playing pranks; do you know, he once vandalised the Hokage monument with paint! Including your face!"

The Fourth chuckled at the thought, but would not be deterred. "What about friends? Who took care of him?"

His predecessor sobered. "We thought to protect Naruto from your enemies, so we gave him the Uzumaki name, and kept the details of his parentage secret. He was raised as all of Konoha's orphans are. I did see to it that he received whatever he needed – sometimes I stepped in personally. It did help that his Academy teacher, young Umino Iruka, I believe, took a liking to him..."

Minato's eyes narrowed. "What. Happened?"

"The village wasn't very receptive to the idea that Naruto protected them," he explained. "Naruto did manage to make many friends, mostly his Academy classmates and genin team, I believe, though it took a while."

"In short, for the greater majority of his childhood, he was treated as most jinchūriki are – with fear, hatred, and avoidance," Utakata surmised sharply.

"How do you know?" Haku asked softly, speaking for the first time since the talk had started.

Utakata glowered at Minato. "I was the host for the Six-Tailed Slug," he murmured.

Minato took a deep breath, and expelled it in a sudden rush. "I won't blame you for anything, Sandaime-sama."

"I would not blame you either, Yondaime-sama," Itachi said. "I have met Uzumaki Naruto before, aged twelve and aged sixteen. He has grown into a great person as well as a good shinobi. He cares deeply for his friends, as well as for the village, and would never abandon either. I asked him once what he would do if forced to choose between his best friend and Konoha. He told me he would find a way to save both." He gave a small smile.

Minato sighed, and met Utakata's gaze. "Look, I did understand the risks and likely costs. I hoped Konoha would acknowledge my son as a hero, but I admit I knew this might happen. I acted anyway, to save all of them from the demon's wrath. I understand your concern, but I am accountable to myself, not to you."

Utakata dipped his head in acknowledgement. "You are, perhaps, a better person than I gave you credit for. I'm from Kirigakure, actually, but...no hard feelings?" He held out a hand.

Minato shook his hand. "What does it matter, whether we're from Kiri or Konoha?" he replied. "We're all starting anew here."

* * *

><p>"Alright," Hashirama said. They all, after some time and lengthy persuasion, now sat in a circle around the banked coals of the fire. Riley had been included, also after a good deal of discussion.<p>

"Since some of us still don't know each other, we're going to introduce ourselves. I recommend informing us of anything of interest about your persons, so that we can get all the awkwardness out of the way; if you don't want to, that's fine with me too.

"My clan name is Senju, my given name is Hashirama," the boy began. He had a sharp, angular face, framed by straight shoulder-length black hair, and wore a red jacket over a plain black shirt and pants, as well as black sandals. A red headband circled his head, and his skin was a tan brown, while his eyes were almost black.

"I was the clan leader, and co-founder of the Hidden Leaf Village, later elected as the First Hokage. I was famed for my Wood Release ability, as demonstrated" he gestured at the wooden dwellings and sheltering trees he had grown for them "and I died in the Great Shinobi World War, which started not long after the hidden villages were first established."

"Douzo yoroshiku, Hashirama-sama," Itachi said politely. The others repeated his words.

* * *

><p>O.O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p>"Douzo yoroshiku", I am told, is a difficult-to-translate Japanese phrase that is commonly used when meeting people for the first time, and is an expression of hope for a good relationship, "let us get along well", something to that effect.<p>

If you wonder why Hashirama calls it the 'Great Shinobi World War', I'm taking a leaf from our two real world wars, where before WWII happened, they called WWI the Great War. He died before he saw the Second Shinobi World War happen; I doubt he would call it the First.

Also, if you care so deeply about continuity, I rewrote a bit of Chapter 3 because thinking about approximate ages and timelines has led me to conclude that Hashirama may not have lived long enough to see his grandson.


	7. Introductions  Part One

Chapter 7: Introductions – Part One

"_Clan name Senju, given name Tobirama," declared the boy proudly and happily. He had a thin reddish-orange stripe marking the chin and each cheek on his pale, angular face, and a head of shaggy, greyish-white hair. His blue jacket was trimmed with white fur, while his shirt, pants and sandals were plain black. _

"_I am Hashirama's younger brother, and I succeeded him as Second Hokage of Konoha. I was known for my prowess with Water Release techniques and space-time ninjutsu, and I trained Sarutobi Hiruzen, who went on to be the Third Hokage after I died in the Shinobi World War."_

The Shinobi, as they were coming to think of their group as, spent the next two weeks training, exploring and learning more about all manner of things. Of course, given the number of ninja there were, they had soon split into their own smaller groups according to who preferred who's company.

Tobirama stuck with his brother and his former student, naturally. The Hyūga and the Uchiha came and went, as did Nawaki, but those two were the constants.

His teamwork with Hashirama was as good as ever, though the size of Tobirama's Suiton: Suishōha now left much to be desired. In comparison, Hashirama's newly discovered inability to grow an entire forest of trees was a small matter. It wasn't like he needed to do that all the time, whereas the Water Shockwave was a perfectly good attack move that had lost half its effectiveness because he didn't have the raw chakra for it anymore.

As for Hiruzen, that was an interesting situation. Technically, his student was now older than he was. Tobirama had just about made it to forty when the nasty went down. Hiruzen had died at age sixty-nine, apparently, making him old enough to be Tobirama's father. Not that it really changed anything, it was just interesting. He still called him Saru, and Hiruzen stilled called him Tobirama-sensei.

Piplup was a difficult little critter to train.

So first he'd had to help Professor Rowan out with his work for a week in order to pay for his new PokéDex, some sort of electronic encyclopaedia, apparently, in order to figure out just what sort of moves Piplup had and could learn. Then it had been trying to get the blue-feathered obstinate thing to do so much as a Pound.

Impressing Piplup with a display of his Water Release techniques had helped. The blue fluffball now couldn't wait to learn Hydro Pump. He told the fluffball he wasn't going to be teaching anything until a proper Peck could be performed repeatedly.

Not that he actually knew just how powerful a Peck was supposed to be. Frankly, the Nidaime Hokage was just winging it as he went, based on whatever looked about right.

* * *

><p>"<em>I am from the <em>_Hyūga Clan. My name is Hizashi." The boy had the trademark white eyes, set in a sharp, tan face framed by long black hair. He wore a loose white long-sleeved shirt, a sleeveless pale grey jacket over it, dark grey pants and black sandals. _

"_I was from the branch house, and my only notable act in life was choosing to die in order to protect my brother and our families. I left behind a talented son named Neji. He was four."_

"_Your brother?" One of them asked._

"_Hiashi was my twin brother, and he became the clan head."_

Hizashi was not quite sure what to do with himself. Despite the Shodai Hokage's reassurances, he did not feel quite comfortable accompanying them, especially when Nawaki was with them. The boy was so happy about being able to get to know his grandfather and hero.

Sometimes he joined Minato's group. The young Hokage had a warm, easy-going manner that belied his status and reputation. Haku and Kimimaro were quite nice despite their origins, and understood something of what it meant to be cursed from birth; they did not actually say much to each other, but the unspoken acknowledgement was there.

He spent a memorable afternoon with them and Riley, discussing the comparative advantages and limitations of the Aura versus chakra. It seemed that most of the reasons for why Aura abilities seemed much less useful all boiled down to lack of knowledge of its capabilities, though not for lack of trying on Riley's part. Hizashi himself personally noted that the sensory ability of the Aura seemed almost comparable to that of the Hyūga dojutsu, though lacking in precision.

Most of the time he spent with them, though, consisted of the training all the Shinobi were undertaking in order to get their skills back up to acceptable levels. Hizashi and Kimimaro were both pleasantly surprised to discover the other person was a taijutsu master.

The respective skills of the four of them provided for some very interesting sparring sessions. The Gentle Fist techniques did not work very well on Kimimaro; the unique physical traits afforded him by the Shikotsumyaku seemed to have resulted in some of his tenketsu being in different locations from those of most ninja. The Byakugan was not as helpful as he had thought it would be against Haku's Demonic Ice Mirrors; the boy simply moved too fast for his reflexes. And few taijutsu techniques were sufficient once Minato had spent a morning reformulating the seal for his Hiraishin no Jutsu.

Oddly, once he had made up his mind to go out and get a Pokémon of his own, Hizashi wound up catching a Starly; one of the most common Pokémon species around. Many of the others had all offered use of their Pokémon for battling the wild Pokémon, but in the end he had knocked it out of a tree branch with a single Eight Trigrams Empty Palm attack.

Hiashi had learned that jutsu with him, in happier days. In remembrance of those days, he named the Starly Kaiten – for the defensive technique that was supposed to belong solely to the main house, that his brother had taught him anyway.

* * *

><p>"<em>I am Fū. I was from Takigakure, and the jinchūriki of the Seven-Tailed Beetle." Orange eyes glared at all of them, as though daring them to say something about it. She wore her mint-green hair in feathery layers, while her sleeveless blouse and thigh-length skirt were white, as were the armlets that reached from wrist to elbow. The blouse was trimmed in red, and the black fishnet leggings ended in black sandals. "And there's really nothing much to say about my life."<em>

"_Would you mind telling us how you died?" a quiet voice prompted._

"_A pair of weird guys in black and red cloaks attacked me, took me somewhere, and tore the tailed beast out of me."_

Fū generally ignored the others. They too allowed her the space she wanted.

One of the Konoha-nin, the one called Minato, had cornered her on the second day, soon after they had all properly introduced themselves. "I get that you don't much like anyone," he had remarked with a crooked smile, as they strolled along the edge of Sandgem Town. "I wouldn't expect you to like anyone either. Just don't drop completely out of touch, all right?"

She thought she might know what he was telling her. Well, Fū had stuck around so far, had she not?

Many of the others, over the week, earned themselves meals or money by offering to do odd jobs for the citizens of Twinleaf and Sandgem. Sakumo and her, however, became the first members of the Informal Shinobi Alliance to make the trip down Route 202 to Jubilife City.

They had just felt like getting away for a couple days. Neither felt comfortable with the others, especially since they had fallen into their own groups. Hizashi was not attached to a group, but something about Sakumo annoyed him, though the Hyūga was too polite to say so, while Itachi, the other loner, seemed uncomfortable with her, despite keeping up a better façade than Hizashi.

But Fū was well practiced at reading the real intentions of people she met. While nobody meant her any ill will, as far as she could tell, years of facing animosity from all directions had left her jumpy at the slightest suggestion of unhappiness directed at her.

Sakumo was the first person Fū had met in this world, and he had not been rebuffed by anything about her yet, so she let him hang around, and ignored the painful twinge of hope somewhere deep in her.

Jubilife City was slightly smaller than Taki, but had paved stone streets and electric lights along them, as well as a good many glass windows set in the tall buildings, making it look so much grander than her native hidden village. Sakumo told her Konoha was far bigger than Jubilife, but they didn't have electric lights all along the streets either.

To them, there was little of interest in the town. There was a shop dealing in small gadgets they didn't understand and had no money for anyway, a school for aspiring Trainers, where they dropped in on a class that was open to all for free and picked up some knowledge on Pokémon conditions, and a TV production company. Nothing a shinobi had interest in.

Instead of going back to Sandgem, the duo explored further. They arrived back at camp a week later, with a Growlithe Fū had caught on the return trip through Route 202 with Sakumo's Shinx, a decent amount of money earned from working at the flower shop in Floaroma Town, and a lot of information entered into Minato's PokéDex.

The Yondaime had asked them to take it along with them and record what information they observed on Pokémon. He was ecstatic over the results, and offered in thanks a Surskit he had found on the lake near Twinleaf Town. Fū accepted the male Bug Pokémon with a smile; the first genuine one she had smiled in a very long time.

* * *

><p>O.O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p>Review, people. Chapter 8 and 9 are in progress, or will be soon, but I am on the verge of threatening to withhold them unless I get more indicators that people are reading this XD. I am only half-joking.<p>

In acknowledgement of various bits of advice I have had, ranging from my tendency to not have enough description to the possible confusion experienced by readers unfamiliar with the characters (obviously none of them are mine, and belong to the people who own Pokémon and Naruto), the bits in italics are as much intended to help readers get something of a picture of how they look and whatnot, as much as it is just the way I am choosing to present this period of events.

Fun note from Narutopedia: Kaiten, in the absence of kanji to help you figure out the intended exact meaning, can mean either 'revolving heaven', a term used to indicate turning the tide of a fight, or simply 'spinning', 'rotating'. Both meanings feel appropriate for a Bird Pokémon, what with the Whirlwind move and all.

Also seemed appropriate somehow, because I like to think Hiashi's relationship with his brother wasn't as hopeless as it looked, the jutsu looks awesome, and is rather aggressive for a defensive technique, making it seem to sit on the borderline between attack and defence in my opinion. Like offence is the defence. The only viable strategy for Bird Pokémon, what can't actually take a hit themselves, only dish it out.

I'm rambling XD.


	8. Introductions  Part Two

I am pleased to note that Chapter 9 can be expected to come in within the next couple days, since it's halfway done already.

In reply to SilverLunaMoon, I don't think I'll include Ash, but I think you can reasonably expect many of the characters from the game(s) to make appearances.

The standard great journey shall be beginning soon, once I'm done exploring the characters XD; my writing currently seems to be taking a very introspective and depressing direction at this moment.

* * *

><p>O,O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 8: Introductions – Part Two<span>

"_My family name is Hatake. My given name is Sakumo." A black headband kept his long spiky white hair from falling into his dark eyes. He wore a dark blue turtleneck long-sleeved shirt, black fingerless gloves, and black pants, as well as blue sandals. His overall built was lean and wiry, perhaps even slightly underfed._

"_I was a jōnin from Konohagakure. I believed that protecting a teammate was more important than completing a mission, even one of great importance. The village did not agree. My own teammates did not agree. I... eventually could not take it anymore."_

_The circle of people exchanged looks. "I think I speak for everyone when I say that I would not hold such a choice, either choice, against you," one of them said, to general nods of agreement._

"_It doesn't matter anymore."_

"_It always matters; sometimes more than you think it does, White Fang of the Leaf."_

Not everyone approved of what Sakumo had done. To be precise, none of them disapproved of his decision to choose his teammates over the mission – some of them openly supported this decision – but a couple of them did not appreciate how he had chosen to get away from it all.

Hizashi's reason for his low opinion of suicide was quite evident, actually, once one joined the dots. The Hyūga had overheard – quite by accident – Sakumo asking Hiruzen about his son Kakashi. As a father who had left behind his son, Hizashi did not appreciate Sakumo doing the same for what seemed to be a more trivial reason than, say, the safety of his family and village.

Having allowed his skills to slip since before his death, combined with the drop in ability all of them had gotten in exchange for their current youthfulness, Sakumo had a lot of training to catch up on. Beyond working on chakra control sufficient for walking on water, and basic defensive taijutsu, though, he did not bother with shinobi skills.

If this really was a new start, then he was done with the shinobi lifestyle. There was no hidden village to fight for here, no need for any combat ability; in this new world, all the battling was between Pokémon, and only a harmless sport at that.

Sakumo already loved his Shinx. The dog-like Pokémon was always energetic and eager, his now-constant presence by Sakumo's side keeping him from falling into dark thoughts again. Shinx only knew one move – Tackle, but that did nothing to prevent it from getting into battles with the other Pokémon belonging to the Shinobi. On their exploratory trip, a number of wild Pokémon encountered along the way were unwitting victims of the Shinx's enthusiasm for battle training.

Fū was not the only one in a celebratory mood when Shinx work out how to not just bite, but infuse his Tackles with electricity.

* * *

><p>"<em>I am Utakata, formerly of Kirigakure, and the former jinchūriki of the Six-Tails." Thin lips set in a pale, sharp face quirked upwards in a smile. His lank black hair hid most of the left side of his face, and half-lidded pale gold eyes gave an impression of disinterest. He wore a bright blue V-necked sleeveless shirt over a pale blue long-sleeved shirt, a thin blue sash tied around his waist, blue-grey pants and black sandals.<em>

"_I rose to the rank of chūnin before I finally decided I was better off living my own life the way I wanted it, without people whispering behind my back all the time, and the Mizukage under the control of an outsider to boot. I thought I was done with people, but after a few years of wandering…. _

"_There was this girl named Hotaru. Saved her from trouble once, she wouldn't stop pestering me to teach her ninjutsu. And then she went and landed in more trouble, not to mention the Konoha-nin who got mixed up in the business too. But we sorted it all out in the end. Ah, just when I finally have something worth bothering with in life…. Some people with orange hair and black cloaks come along, drag me off and kill me."_

_The golden eyes looked around the circle. "Say, you," Utakata sounded surprised, as though seeing him properly for the first time. "You didn't go around in a black cloak with red clouds and attacked me, did you?"_

"_No," Yahiko replies, visibly baffled. "Why?"_

"_The man who attacked me, he wore a lot of piercings in his face, but his face, it looked just like yours. Slightly older, perhaps, but I would have said it was you." He waved a hand, dismissing the matter._

Having so many people about him was an unfamiliar sensation to Utakata, but he adapted quickly. Shellos, too, agreed with him that some company now and then was always good, but having time to oneself was equally good. There was quiet and calm, and nobody pestering him for anything.

Then again, the feeling of not having anyone be there to pester him was a lonely one. It was just as well that the Konoha-nin were there.

They could be very annoying. It was one of them who had suggested they build a more permanent residence in Twinleaf Town, to start with.

The discussion went back and forth for a few days, covering everything from how they were going to build said residence (Hashirama was confident he could handle it) to how they were supposed to explain it away (they weren't; a subtle genjutsu on the locals and the house had always been there, part of the community).

Somehow, despite the more-than-sufficient number of rooms available, Tobirama wound up sharing his room with his brother and great-nephew, Kimimaro and Haku roped Utakata into a similar arrangement, while Itachi, Fū, Yahiko and Minato might as well have shared the same room – none of them seemed to actually spend much time sleeping.

That settled, everyone was now faced with the task of furnishing the house; the Shodai could provide as much wooden furniture as they wanted, but not so much as a scrap of cloth.

Utakata didn't care. A roof was more than he had had in years.

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><p>"<em>I'm Haku. I was born in a small village in the Land of Water." Big, dark brown eyes were set in a thin, feminine face framed by straight black shoulder-length hair. His attire consisted of a turquoise sleeveless jacket over a light blue long-sleeved shirt, dark green pants and deep blue sandals. A blue sash was tied around his waist.<em>

"_I possess a bloodline limit ability, the Ice Release. I was seven when my father found out. He gathered the other villagers, and they killed my mother, then tried to do the same to me. I don't know what I did then, but I think I killed them."_

"_When did we start telling each other our life stories?" Tobirama whispered to his brother._

"_Unlike you, some people have stuff they need to get over," Hashirama muttered back._

"_Momochi Zabuza took me in. He said he needed a powerful tool to fight for him. I was happy to be that tool; it meant I was useful, wanted, acknowledged and welcome. But in the end, I could not bring myself to kill a twelve-year-old boy who stood in my way, because like me, he fought for people important to him. So, I sacrificed myself to block the killing blow Kakashi would have landed on Zabuza. I think I was fifteen years old. I hope I was good enough for Zabuza... I hope Naruto will do better than I did..."_

As could be expected, Minato asked Haku about Naruto, with all the desperation of a parent who wanted to know about the son he had never gotten to know, even if he tried to maintain a calm demeanour. Haku was happy to describe what he remembered of the boy to him, from the bright orange jumpsuit to the reckless way he yelled and charged ahead.

What really pleased Minato, though, was the recount of Haku's early-morning meeting with Naruto, and the second-hand mention from Zabuza of how Kakashi had promised to protect his genin team at any cost. Both of them knew, though, that he would have much preferred hearing it from Naruto and Kakashi.

"All your power and prestige means nothing, does it, when you consider what you would rather have?" Haku mused aloud in a moment of daring.

"I think many of us are in the same position," Minato replied.

Sad thoughts aside, Haku liked it here. Shiroi Mizu was his first attempt at being a mentor instead of the student, and the Bidoof trained alongside him with the same eagerness Haku once had when working with Zabuza.

What truly made it so rewarding, though, was the day Tobirama remarked that he didn't think the White duo looked like much.

Tobirama had meant it as a casual remark, with no real sting to the words, of course, but he had also followed it up with the comment that he and Haku hadn't actually tried sparring with each other yet – given the number of them there were, it was surprising he had even noticed. Haku was mildly flattered that the Nidaime Hokage had taken notice of him – actually, Tobirama took pains to make sure nobody was ignored, like a good leader, but Haku didn't know that – and had agreed to battle him, both with ninjutsu and Pokémon.

Haku and White Water proceeded to defeat Tobirama and Piplup twice over. Admittedly, it had been a close fight; it was just unfortunate that Haku could take advantage of his opponent's Water Release techniques and had gotten a split second's time to stick a fine ice needle in exactly the right spot. Then Piplup had discovered that a Bidoof doing Rollout moved much faster than expected.

Piplup was not a gracious loser; once he had woken up, he started squeaking a whole series of furious cheeps that sent all of them, especially Tobirama, into fits of laughter. "I told you not to underestimate the cute little beaver," Minato told his predecessor, before dissolving into another round of laughing.

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><p>"<em>I am Kimimaro, and I was born into the Kaguya Clan of Kirigakure." The boy had white shoulder-length hair, one lock of which was bound with a red tie, green eyes, and a pale, sharp face. He wore a sleeveless black shirt, grey pants and black shoes, as well as a grey-striped white jacket. Ash the Cubone sat in his lap, studiously ignoring everyone present.<em>

"_My father had me locked away, because they feared me and what I could do," he stated in a monotone voice, making sharp spears of bone protrude from his shoulders, palms and knees to illustrate his point. "I was only allowed out when they needed me to fight for them, and the last time this happened, they simply told me to go into the village and kill every Kiri-nin I met. It was only much later that I learned the clan attempted a rebellion, and was destroyed for it. I only knew at the time that I was scared, because no matter how many I killed they just kept coming, and ran away._

"_Orochimaru-sama found me. He took me in, and I was happy to be useful to him. When I fell terribly ill, I couldn't be the vessel for his immortality jutsu anymore, so I sacrificed myself to ensure the new vessel would make it to him safely, despite the interference of some Konoha-nin...if you do not mind my saying so, Minato-sama."_

The leadership issue was an interesting matter to settle, given their diverse backgrounds and personalities. Yahiko, despite a degree of friendliness with Minato as a fellow student of Jiraiya's, was unwilling to simply allow the four Hokage to call the shots; none of the Hokage actually wanted to call the shots. Utakata didn't really care, one way or another; as long as the person giving the instructions was careful not to seem bossy, the former Kiri-nin just went along with everything. Fū only did something if she wanted to, or if Sakumo was the one doing the persuading.

Kimimaro only obeyed Minato.

He didn't actually know why he had chosen to follow the Yondaime, and would merely shrug if asked. It might have been because Minato was the first person he had met in this world, that had taken charge without being bossy or unreasonable, and showed him genuine concern. Not that the others had not, but first impressions counted for a lot, and when they had initially encountered the rest, it was evident that Tobirama's companions had gone ahead and settled themselves into this world just fine, before they had thought to come find the remaining three.

Outside of his tendency to be obstinate about whatever he had decided, Kimimaro was actually a rather nice person, which was demonstrated when Haku asked him if he could make some senbon for him.

A little experimenting soon produced a fine selection of long, thin bone needles, and then it got the others wondering if Kimimaro could make kunai for them. Out of curiosity, he acquiesced. He didn't appreciate being a tool factory, though, so most of the Shinobi just got one or two kunai, and hereafter had to be careful not to lose the only weapons they had. Itachi and Sakumo refused any weapons, while Minato, by dint of being Kimimaro's favourite person, scored himself a dozen three-pronged kunai.

Perhaps they were now children in a little more than just physical appearance. Minato observed that playing favourites and pouting when one did not get what one wanted was just like kids who did not know better, and provoked a rare bout of laughter from the three Kiri natives.

As for the leadership issue, the Informal Shinobi Alliance eventually gave up on trying to decide on a leader. It was simply acknowledged that it was unlikely a real leader would actually be needed, and everyone somehow had someone else's back anyway, so they just remained a vaguely cohesive group that somehow got things done. In a rare moment of insight, Kimimaro suggested to Minato, who was in agreement, that choosing a leader might conversely have proven divisive.

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><p>O.O.O.O<p>

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><p>I haven't actually watched the bit in the anime concerning Utakata, so right now I'm just speculating on his general personality. Might rewrite if I get round to watching the relevant episodes and decide to tweak details. Also, if anyone wants to point out that certain people in the group may not have simply nodded and welcomed Kimimaro into the fold once they heard Orochimaru's name, let me just note that I'm sort of going to address that next chapter.<p>

Review!


	9. Introductions  Part Three

And this is the last of the character introductions XD. Next chapter shall actually start moving things along properly. Once I've fermented and brewed it properly, of course.

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><p>O.O.O.O<p>

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><p><span>Chapter 9: Introductions – Part Three<span>

"_You worked for Orochimaru?" one of the others said. He did not seem happy._

"_Yes, I did. Why?" Kimimaro frowned. He did not like it when other people could not see how great Orochimaru-sama was._

"_I was his teacher, and I can tell you, I do not approve of what he's been doing." He had not expected such a reply, that was for sure. Though, of course, even Orochimaru had been young once._

"_I'm Hiruzen, of the Sarutobi Clan," the boy introduced himself. He had dark brown hair that seemed to make it a point to defy gravity, a keen look in his black eyes, and wore over his white shirt and dark blue pants a white jacket just like Minato's, trimmed with red flames along the hem and bearing red stripes along the sleeves._

"_I was trained by the Second Hokage, and became Third at the age of 19, after he died. I went on to train my own students, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru, who became known as the Legendary Sannin during the Second Shinobi World War. You would have been proud of your granddaughter Tsunade at one point, Hashirama-sama; she was inspired by Nawaki's death to specialise in medical ninjutsu, and gained a reputation as the greatest medic-nin in the world, before the death of her fiancé broke her. Jiraiya was the most bold and foolish of the three, or so I thought; he may actually have turned out to be the best of my three students, with his mastery of senjutsu and unflagging optimism as well as loyalty._

"_I once believed Orochimaru could succeed me as Hokage, but he grew twisted with ambition for power, casting aside all morals in his pursuit of immortality. He defected from the village, the night I failed to bring myself to kill him. He came back years later, when Otogakure, the hidden village he founded, and Sunagakure organised a joint invasion of Konoha. I confronted him, and he resurrected the First and Second Hokage, bound them to his will, in order to fight me. I don't know if we won, since I died in order to seal away the two previous Hokage and Orochimaru's ability to perform most ninjutsu, crippling him."_

_Kimimaro would have liked to say something about what the Sandaime had done to the man Kimimaro respected, but this had apparently been Orochimaru's sensei, which left him unsure of what to say._

"_Konoha came through fine," Itachi assured Hiruzen._

The Sandaime Hokage was actually quite happy with the current state of things. There were few things an old man would relish more than the opportunity to be young again. Of course, that was not the only reason.

He would never admit it, not even to himself, but the fact was, Sarutobi Hiruzen was getting tired of being Hokage. Two terms in the position, until all his hair turned white with the stress of sending his shinobi out on missions they never came back from, when none of the other people who took the job had survived it long enough to think of polishing up a proper successor.

Hiruzen liked to think he had done well enough, all things considered, especially since second-guessing one's own decisions as village leader could be disastrous in so many ways. But he'd always known that he had erred greatly in how he had taught his only three students.

The Legendary Sannin were powerful shinobi, yes, but they were also rather pathetic as human beings, to put it bluntly. One had his priorities in life completely wrong; one had found herself unable to cope with the cost of being shinobi; and the one that had turned out to be the most decent, seemed to think he needed to make up for every moment he spent being a responsible man by getting drunk and chasing pretty women.

That all three had wound up the way they did, suggested a failing on the part of the teacher. But the Sandaime was done thinking about it. Hindsight was twenty-twenty, and completely ineffectual.

He wasn't even the only one with a past to put behind him. Everyone here could do with a new start. To his mind, the world they were in was a very good place to begin again. Even the name of the town they were in conjured images of a young shoot just starting life. There was so much to explore, so many new things to see, and no more obligation except for what they chose to take up, like their Pokémon.

The Chimchar was a lively companion that, interestingly, reminded Hiruzen of Naruto, in personality as well as the vivid colours. He still hadn't decided what to call him, but the two already had quite the rapport. Many of the others, too, were getting on very well with their Pokémon partners, as well as with each other.

Not all of them had settled in, of course, but for the first time in a very long time, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt he could in fact just leave things to the younger ones, and everything would work out in the end.

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><p>"<em>I'm Nawaki, genin of Konohagakure, and grandson of the First Hokage." Bright green-grey eyes were set in a face with round cheeks and a square jaw. He had short light brown hair, a white scarf around his neck and a dark teal-green shirt, trimmed with pale grey, as well as light green pants and deep blue sandals.<em>

"_Hehe, there isn't much to say about me. I always wanted to be as strong as Tsunade-nee-san, and become a great Hokage like my grandfather, but I was killed in the Second Shinobi World War at age twelve. Orochimaru-sensei always said I shouldn't be so hasty…."_

Nawaki was in awe.

His grandfather was everything he had imagined him to be: powerful, confident, knowledgeable, and the kind of person who always took time to listen to you no matter what.

Well, perhaps not quite everything, he definitely hadn't pictured Hashirama-jisan to be _this_ young. Sometimes he almost forgot that the guy wasn't a fellow kid. Almost.

There was just something about the way the others all talked. Something in the way they held themselves, in the way they walked, in every blow dealt out in their training sessions, that strongly reminded Nawaki that they were older, more experienced, and whatever else they were, they certainly weren't twelve-year-olds.

When they met Lucas and Dawn to talk or pick up more information, Nawaki was the spokesperson for the Shinobi now, because he knew, and his fellow shinobi realised, that Nawaki was the only one of them that could truly pass himself off as a normal child.

Itachi-san certainly couldn't, or Fū-san and Sakumo-san. His great-uncle and Minato-sama could pretend to be the youth they no longer were, but they were too clever and too sharp. Ultimately, too, all anyone had to do was look in their eyes, and the old feeling looked back. Nawaki didn't know what to call that feeling; it was just a feeling of _oldness_ that only left him certain nobody would see that look and believe they were kids.

He wondered how long it would be before he got that look in his own eyes too.

* * *

><p>"<em>I'm Yahiko. I was from Amegakure." Normally confident and calm, that day the bluish-brown eyes and the expression on his angular face were serious and unhappy. He wore a grey-trimmed black jacket over a white shirt and dark grey pants, with black shoes, while his short spiky orange hair was the only truly vivid colour on him.<em>

"_I was a nobody, one of the many orphans created by the wars that raged through the country. I wanted to put an end to all that fighting, and stop the sky from crying so much. Jiraiya-sensei helped us, taught us skills, but in the end, like everyone else, he left us to work it out ourselves._

"_We worked it out, though. We started the Akatsuki, and people who wanted peace through non-violent means like we did joined us. There were a very many of them. Then Hanzō sent a message to us. The negotiations turned out to be a trap. I killed myself so Nagato wouldn't have to choose between Konan and I. It's up to them now…. Why are you staring at me like that?"_

_The other boy blinked. "I apologise," he said in a soft voice. "Your story surprised me. I'm familiar with the Akatsuki, you see, except what I know might be very different from what you remember of your organisation._

"_In order to explain what I mean, I should probably tell all of you my story. It would be a relief for me too, to finally be able to tell the truth, and some of you should be told, anyway." Dull black bangs framed a thin, worn face with lines already forming under the eyes; this boy had not known peace and good rest for a long time, had pushed himself more than any child should. He wore a dark blue shirt, light grey pants, black sandals, and had tied back his long hair with a red hair tie. The deep grey-black irises shifted into a vivid red as he spoke. _

"_My name is Itachi. I was born into the Uchiha Clan. I was hailed as a genius, who made chūnin by age ten, who was an ANBU captain by thirteen, but all I wanted was to keep Konoha safe….at any cost. When my family grew discontent with the way of things, grew angry at the suspicion that feel on them after the Kyūbi's attack on the village, they planned a rebellion, to take over control of Konoha. I opposed them, and turned double agent, reporting to the Third Hokage and the Council. _

"_Attempts an pursuing a peaceful reconciliation failed. So I slaughtered my clansmen, made myself out as a traitor in pursuit of power, and used my new status as missing-nin to continue assisting Konoha, by joining a criminal organisation in order to keep an eye on them from the inside. That organisation was Akatsuki."_

"_But we weren't-" Yahiko protested._

_Itachi brought his hands together to form seals. With a swirl of smoke, a man in a black cloak decorated with red clouds sat there. He had the shape of Yahiko's face and his spiky orange hair, but also dull grey studs along each side of his nose, a pair of small spikes under his bottom lip, and far too many piercings in his ears. The headband carried the four vertical lines that symbolised Amegakure, but also had a slash through the insignia. Strangest of all were the eyes, which were pale purple-grey and had a ripple pattern radiating outwards from the pupils. "This is the leader of Akatsuki. We never knew his name."_

"_Those are Nagato's Rinnegan eyes," Yahiko murmured. "And that really does look like me…. How…."_

"_As for Konan-san…." The Uchiha performed the jutsu again, transforming into a woman with blue hair worn up in a bun, a paper rose adorning it. She had the same black-and-red cloak. _

"_An older her," Yahiko said with a longing sigh. "Well, I have no idea what the heck is it with him looking like me, but I would think the Akatsuki leader is Nagato. So what are my friends doing?"_

_Itachi dispelled the technique. "Sending the members out to hunt down the tailed beasts and collect them, in order to make a weapon powerful enough to use in taking over the world. Or so Leader said. I believe we had collected all but the Six-Tails, Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails when I fought my little brother and dropped dead in front of him._

_At the questioning looks, he explained. "I didn't kill my brother that night; I could not bring myself to. So I made him hate me, told him to get stronger, to ensure his safety, and so he could kill me one day, avenging our clan and wiping our reputation clean, since the Konoha elders would never speak of it, and I was the only other person who knew. Goodness knows what Sasuke will get up to now I have gone, but I've done what I could."_

_There was a long silence. Tobirama broke it. "That is the most messed up life story I've ever heard."_

Late one night, in their second week since arriving in Sinnoh, Minato found himself unable to fall asleep, and went downstairs to find Fū, Itachi and Yahiko in the backyard, engaged in such interesting activities as silently staring up at the sky or gazing into the shadowy forest.

"Can't sleep either, eh?" Yahiko commented, his reclining position having allowed him to see Minato's noiseless approach. The others turned at the voice, and nodded greetings.

"There's a lot on my mind." The Fourth sat down beside the Ame-nin with a shrug. "I'm guessing it's the same for all of you."

"Tell me about it," Yahiko replied wryly. "I'm wondering just what my best friends are getting up to back there, Fū continues to regard all humans with suspicion, and Itachi...no one knows what to say to him. They can't behave normally around him, since they're torn between useless reassurance and demanding exact details." The other two did not respond.

Tobirama had summed up Itachi's life neatly. Even Kimimaro, who had never had an actual family, and had spent most of his life fighting for a side that did not have much support from everyone else, thus not quite grasping the weight of the matter, was left in a momentary state of horrified silence once the Itachi/Sasuke relationship had been explained to him.

"Well, what's your deal, Minato?" The orange-haired boy really had taken to mind Minato's telling him to forgo formalities.

"I hate myself because I damned my own son to a childhood of hatred and loneliness, and can claim little credit for how well he's turned out in the end?" he offered. "I don't even hate the villagers – they don't know any better, and I don't blame Sandaime-sama, because despite what they call him, he isn't a god; I left him with a big mess to clean up, and one child cannot take precedent over the village, no matter how much I wished it."

"Not know any better..." Fū's voice was bitter and soft, as though she spoke to herself. "They refused to see a lost, lonely child, and saw only the demon they expected to see. The only demons I see are in normal people."

"Why in normal people?" Itachi asked. Minato thought he saw him raise an eyebrow, but could not be sure in the dim light.

"Believe it or not, it was the Nanabi who showed the answer to me." Fū laughed. "Ha, the irony of a demon understanding what so many humans do not: it is a demon's nature to destroy. They know no better. Humans know better, but choose to act the way they do anyway. What does that make them, but monsters? More horrifying than a tailed beast's power brought to bear against you; you're supposed to expect death and destruction from a demon, not from your own people."

"I don't see why you would care about people that can see nothing of what you did for them," Yahiko said to Minato. "Do you even know why you fought?"

Minato glared at them. "It's precisely because they don't understand. I therefore had a responsibility to do all that for them, as one who does know better and chooses to act accordingly."

"And you have acted accordingly, Minato-sama," Itachi pointed out. "The rest was out of your hands. You have said so yourself, why there is no one to blame."

"Thanks for reminding me." There was a note of sarcasm in the voice, but Minato appeared to have relaxed. "So, Fū, Itachi, why are the two of you still up, really?"

"I just feel sort of restless," Fū muttered. Itachi did not so much as twitch.

"I think it would be nice if we had something proper to do," Yahiko mused. "Tobirama teaching me advanced Suiton jutsu is all very well, but I feel like just going out there and doing something."

Minato lay back beside him, looking up at the stars too. They were different from those back home, and yet somehow still the same. "I was thinking. Since this place is a new start for us, maybe we should just go out there like those Trainers do. Travel, explore..." He wondered how long it had been since he had actually had fun. The entire stretch of time from before his death certainly failed to qualify, except for Kushina.

"What, all thirteen of us?" Yahiko remarked. "We'd be quite the sight..."

"It doesn't have to be, if you like."


	10. Similarities And Differences

Oh, yeah, done! Two chapters so quickly, it's AWEsome, yeah? You'll have to wait quite a bit for the next one, though; juice needs recharging. My imaginary Minato would prefer I don't write half-assed stuff, so I refuse to rush the process.

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><p>O.O.O.O<p>

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><p><span>Chapter 10: Similarities And Differences<span>

Lucas' mother, Lena, worked as a seamstress, and knew the best places to buy clothes. She had thus been willing to help outfit the Shinobi, who had arrived with only what they wore on their persons, as long as they paid.

Which, given their cash-strapped circumstances, involved helping run errands. Minato wondered when he had stooped to using the Hiraishin no Jutsu in order to decrease the travel time for fetching cloth samples and delivering custom-tailored clothing to customers, then decided he didn't care.

One thing all of them had wanted was a way to carry the insignia of their respective villages, even Fū, who grudgingly admitted that her own village, at least, had not locked her away. "In memory of where we were from," Sakumo mused. Minato had also suggested they choose a symbol to represent their mismatched group, and they had merely settled on using the kanji for 'shinobi'. "Since we're the only ones here," Tobirama pointed out.

So they all got headbands, minus the metal plate, with 忍 embroidered in silver on the dark cloth, and their village symbols on the long trailing ends. They had sketched the shapes for Lena, telling her it was all part of their club 'thing', and she had happily obliged.

Well into their third week in Sinnoh, Minato, Kimimaro, Haku, Yahiko and Utakata planned their journey. Fū and Sakumo, with the new inclusion of Itachi, intended to go their own way, though were probably planning much the same things. Well used to travelling light, they all needed only a waist pouch and a small backpack each, filled with simple, non-perishable food supplies, first aid equipment, toiletries, a spare set of clothing, weapons and a half dozen Pokéballs each. Yahiko and Itachi each had a standard PokéDex too.

"You could try for the Pokémon League," Riley told Minato, as the combined groups pored over a map of Sinnoh. "It's an organisation that hosts a biannual region-wide competition for aspiring Trainers to prove themselves. The most powerful Trainers are named the Elite Four and the Champion, and the current five have defended their positions for quite a few years now. Of course, the Trainers who fight their way into the top dozen or so receive commendations, which is no small thing given the number making the attempt, but from what I know of your lot, you won't be content with just a commendation, will you?

"For a gauge of how skilled your Pokémon and you need to be, you could try taking on a Gym Leader. Pokémon Gyms are, as the name suggests, training facilities, located in every major city, and there are eight of them, each with a leader, who are pretty good trainers in their own right. You could train at a Gym, but many Trainers just walk in and issue a challenge." He grinned. "Defeating the Gym Leader earns you a badge, and getting all eight allows you to skip the initial preliminary rounds."

"We would see a lot of different Pokémon along the way too," Haku observed. "Which is good for helping Professor Rowan with his project."

"Yes, best not forget about the guy providing our funding," Minato said with a laugh. "Although the task itself is actually quite enjoyable and intriguing."

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><p>Senju Hashirama received quite a shock when eight members of the Informal Shinobi Alliance mentioned, quite casually over breakfast, that they were intending to leave on a journey. "Might consider doing so yourselves, Hashirama-sama," Minato suggested, pouring cold milk over his cereal. They didn't have an actual fridge, but a large wooden cabinet with one of Haku's Ice Release jutsu on it served much the same purpose, in much the same way they had rigged up a water supply for the house by way of some careful and inventive application of Water Release techniques combined with wooden plumbing.<p>

"We're packed and heading out as soon as we're done with food," Sakumo added.

"No offence meant, but some of us don't feel comfortable without something to do," Yahiko explained, anticipating the questions. "And some of us have, frankly, gotten used to minimal amounts of companionship."

"Which is why we didn't say anything sooner, because the rest of you would want to come along together with us," Fū elaborated.

"We would prefer to stay friends and keep in contact, of course," Minato said, getting up with his empty bowl in hand. "Except given the mountainous nature of this region, mobile communication devices don't work half the time, or so we're told. In any case, I've inscribed my Hiraishin seal on the back of the front door."

"And if you and the rest do decide to follow us, Hashirama-sama," Utakata chipped in, "we suggest asking the twins to detail the Pokémon League challenge to you; we're going native."

"Not that we're forgetting that we're shinobi," Yahiko said seriously. "I'm going to improve myself so I can defeat you next time, Shodai Hokage."

"I believe Nidaime-sama would like a rematch with me," Haku remarked. "Tell him I look forward to it sometime."

Kimimaro came back down the stairs, carrying a number of backpacks. His Cubone dragged two more backpacks down after him. "Best wishes, Shodai-sama," Itachi told the man with a small, sincere smile, shouldering his backpack. The others echoed his words as they trooped out the door one by one.

Hashirama finally gathered his wits, and dashed upstairs to wake Tobirama. The eight left Twinleaf Town with five shinobi waving them off, including one white-haired boy yelling after them that they had better not disgrace Konoha's name as Pokémon Trainers.

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><p>Fū, Itachi and Sakumo took their leave of Minato's group at Sandgem Town, heading off down Route 202 while Minato and the others stayed to wait for Riley, who had agreed to meet them outside Rowan's research centre. Ten minutes after the three figures had disappeared down the path – and ten minutes after the agreed time, the double doors flew open to reveal the Aura user in an interesting state of agitation.<p>

"There are more of you!" was his first exclamation on seeing them. At their collective raised eyebrows, he calmed down somewhat, taking deep breaths. "Professor Rowan just received a call from one Professor Birch, who is a Pokémon expert currently working in the Hoenn region," he explained. "It was supposed to be just a discussion about work, but Rowan mentioned the lot of you; as a passing joke about people showing up from nowhere, he said. Except Professor Birch has had the very same thing happen."

"You mean shinobi have shown up from nowhere in this other region?" Minato demanded.

"Exactly. They're still on the line, actually; come right in."

The five immediately rushed in. Apparently, in this world long-range communication technology had improved sufficiently for the person on the other end to not just be heard, but seen on a screen in real-time. So Minato recognised one of the two persons on the screen instantaneously.

Standing beside a man with a square-ish, bearded face and brown hair, was a round-faced girl with grey-blue eyes and long, fiery red hair. "Minato?"

"Kushina?"

* * *

><p>O.O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p>You didn't think I'd actually have excluded Kushina, did you? That would be just mean to Minato.<p>

Also, if anyone can suggest one dead shinobi from Sunagakure that deserves a new shot at a new life, do tell. I will be grateful, and so will Suna, because they haven't got a single representative in the Pokémon world yet.


	11. Disappointments

Yes! I said a couple days on my profile, didn't I? Two chapters too.

By the way, thank you, thank you very very much, reviewers ^_^. It's rather heartening to read your comments and know you all appreciate what I'm doing enough to come tell me what you think, especially the possible holes you noticed and such. Also, on Minato meeting Volkner... I hadn't thought that far ahead, but prompted by your remark, I Bulbepedia-ed him - goodness, Volkner has the same hair, eyes and HAIRSTYLE as Minato. Really would be interesting then, their meeting up.

* * *

><p>O.O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 11: Disappointments<span>

"That's your wife, Minato?" Riley asked.

"Wife?" the two professors yelped in astonishment. Rowan _was_ aware that Minato and his friends were not what they appeared to be, but they did still look like children.

Minato grinned happily. "You will recall that I told you I am much older than I look, Professor Rowan," he replied.

"What's going on?" Kushina demanded loudly.

The assembled assortment of people glanced at each other. "You died and woke up in this world," Minato said.

"Yes," Kushina said slowly.

"We're alive again, with our memories and abilities intact," he told her. "We're in a new world, and we won't ever return to the Five Great Nations; this is a new start."

"Huh."

"You seem to be taking it rather calmly, miss," Rowan remarked.

"I believe whatever Minato tells me," she declared firmly. "Anyway, I'm not stupid, you know. I've met quite a few people who showed up the same way I have, we just woke up in the woods. Mito-sama is here, the First's wife, and Izuna Uchiha, and quite a few others I've never met before. Mito-sama died earlier than we did, though, so why...?"

"The death god's idea of fun." Minato shrugged. On the screen, a girl with blue hair worn up in a bun joined them, peering over Kushina's shoulder, prompting Yahiko to elbow his way to the front of the group. "Konan! You're..."

The girl seemed expressionless, but the shinobi caught a suggestion of sadness in her gold-brown eyes. "Yes, Yahiko, I died. Nagato's here too." She smiled faintly. "It's good to finally see you properly again."

Yahiko turned to look at Riley and Rowan. "How do we get to...Hoenn?"

"Not a chance," Rowan stated flatly. "It's winter now; it's started to snow up at Snowpoint City. The sea between Sinnoh and Hoenn will be plagued by storms; you'll have to wait a few months before the ship captains will start making the trips again."

Minato and Yahiko almost seemed to deflate before their eyes. A moment later, though, the Fourth suddenly perked up again. "Kushina, you know what Pokémon are?"

"Minato, you idiot, of course I do," she retorted, but with little real bite to her words. "Professor Birch here explained them to us. He's been very helpful, don't you worry."

"You're welcome, young lady," Birch said with a smile.

Something occurred to the blond boy. "Riley, does Hoenn have a Pokémon League too?"

"Naturally. The system is nearly identical, I understand. Eight Gyms, the Elite Four and the Champion. Why?"

"We're planning to take on the Pokémon League in Sinnoh as full-fledged Pokémon Trainers," Minato quickly explained to Kushina. "I'm still keeping my shinobi skills in good shape – it would feel strange not to – but this Pokémon battling thing is interesting, and I'm planning to try my hand at it. Since we've got a few months, I'm challenging you to do the same." He had a mischievous grin on his face now.

"Ha! I think I can actually beat you this time, then," Kushina crowed. "Just being an oh-so-great genius won't cut it this time, Minato; women are the nurturing sex, my Pokémon will trounce you flat!"

Yahiko looked amused and contemplative. "What do you think, Konan?"

"Nagato and I will be fine until you can join us," she assured him. "And this League challenge seems to be a good way to test ourselves."

* * *

><p>"We should inform the others," Minato mused. They sat at a side table in the lab to discuss the events, while Professor Rowan got back to work.<p>

"Just write them a letter or something," Yahiko said dismissively. "If we have to stop to tell the others about everything we come across, we won't get anywhere. Although I suppose it's only fair to tell Hashirama his wife is here in this world with us."

"Mm." Minato took the list of names back from Kimimaro, who shook his head. He didn't recognise anybody on the list. "I know Jiraiya-sensei, of course, and I remember Sasori; Sasori of the Red Sand, they called him, by the time the Third War ended. This Shisui of the Uchiha Clan, though, no, nor any of the other names."

"I recognise Roshi," Utakata put in. "He's from Iwagakure, and the jinchūriki of the Four-Tails. Decent enough, but rather gruff. Yagura, though, he was the Sanbi's jinchūriki, and our Fourth Mizukage. The one that was a puppet ruler for that masked outsider."

"Masked?" Minato looked not just worried, but furious, though his emotions were still carefully reined in. He tamped his worry down; there was no point worrying about it, he was dead in that world. Short of engineering an incredibly powerful space-time technique...not that he had any idea how to start. "Okay, I'll write a note to the others back in Twinleaf, what they think of it is up to them. Fū allowed me to place a Hiraishin seal on her kunai, so I could just jump to them and pass them this list."

"And then we can finally get going for real," Yahiko huffed.

* * *

><p>"Back so soon?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.<p>

"Not quite. We received some information the original me thought you might be interested to know about," Minato replied, handing him the letter, then dispelled in a puff of smoke.

* * *

><p>"Shisui? Uchiha Shisui?" It was evident to the Minato kage bunshin that Itachi knew Shisui.<p>

Fū frowned as she glanced over the list, Sakumo reading over her shoulder. Minato shrugged. "I'm just passing on the information. The only person I actually saw and recognised was Uzumaki Kushina, all right? Either way, Hoenn is currently unreachable thanks to winter storms, so we'll have to wait a few months to meet them. See you around." He poofed out of existence.

* * *

><p>Minato's group travelled to Jubilife City in amicable quiet, absorbed in their own thoughts. Rather, most members of the group were not given to talking, while the two that usually initiated conversation were absorbed in their thoughts. Haku and Kimimaro, the latter with his Cubone walking beside him, kept an eye out for any previously unseen Pokémon, entering their observations into their PokéDexes.<p>

"At least she's here too," Minato finally said, to nobody in particular. "Which I am glad for. Although I dread having to tell her about Naruto."

"Well, you have time to figure out how to break it to her," Yahiko replied. "I have lots of time to think of reasons why Nagato's avoiding me."

"He is?" Riley commented idly, as he flipped through Minato's PokéDex entries. "Heh, the way you describe Magikarp makes it sound like it's too dumb to live."

"That's what you call it?" Minato rolled his eyes. "That's a nice name for such a chronically stupid fish. If it has any potential besides splashing uselessly, I haven't seen it."

"We were talking for ten whole minutes before Rowan chased us off," Yahiko pointed out. "I somehow doubt he was stuck in the washroom for that entire time."

"I have a Magikarp," Haku remarked.

Minato and Kimimaro actually stopped dead in their tracks, turning to stare at him. "You do?" Since when?" Minato wondered.

"And why would you choose such a weak creature as a partner?" Kimimaro asked, ignoring the whack that his Cubone landed on his shin.

"She looked pretty, and lonely," Haku replied somewhat defensively. "The other Magikarp didn't like her because she looked different. Hikari has an orange-gold sheen to her. So I took her in."

"When did you get one?" Yahiko repeated Minato's question.

"Just yesterday." Haku smiled at the memory. "We were sneaking around trying to get our packing done inconspicuously, so maybe none of you noticed me going down to the pond to ask Hikari if she wanted to travel with me."

"...Right." They started walking again. "It's not like I'm biased or anything," Minato said. "But I saw a Magikarp get caught by a hunting Staravia because it was splashing about attracting attention. How has the species even survived?"

Haku shrugged. "Maybe we just haven't seen its potential, that's all."

* * *

><p>"Who's Shisui?" Sakumo asked. The three were already on Route 204, taking a short break beside one of the ponds dotting the stretch of forest. Fū's Surskit skittered back and forth across the pond's surface happily.<p>

Itachi glanced sharply at him, then turned back to stare at the gently rippling surface of the water. "My cousin. Shunshin no Shisui, they called him..." He hesitated, then added, "I thought of him as a brother."

"Sounds like quite the big shot, your cousin," Fū noted with only a tinge of sarcasm. Her Growlithe sat beside her, while Sakumo's Shinx wandered about, sniffing at something in the long grass.

"He was the clan genius, until I came along," Itachi replied blandly.

"Well, you have someone to look forward to meeting-"

"I don't." Itachi cut off Sakumo bluntly. "He doesn't know how I resolved the matter of my clan's rebellion."

Fū shrugged. "Good luck working out how to break the news."

They continued the journey in a comfortable silence.

* * *

><p>Tobirama patted his student on the back comfortingly, as the boy sat staring at the table surface. "Jiraiya..." Hiruzen murmured.<p>

"We really have quite the assortment of shinobi showing up," Hashirama observed, taking the list into the living room, leaving his brother with the grieving kid in the kitchen.

"How so, Hashirama-sama?" Hizashi asked, sitting across from him, Nawaki beside him.

"Minato, Yahiko and Utakata recognised some of the names on this list," he explained. "This Sasori is from the Wind Country, while Roshi is a jinchūriki from Tsuchi no Kuni. Nagato and Konan are Yahiko's associates, presumably from Ame too. I once fought Izuna, and worked alongside him too. Uzumaki Mito is my wife, and Kushina is Minato's. " He passed the letter to the two.

"Wow," Nawaki said as he read the letter. "Good for both of you, then. You know, ojisan, Grandmother was still well and alive in my time."

"I don't recognise any name on this list, aside from Jiraiya-sama and Uchiha Shisui, and then only in passing," Hizashi put in. "The Uchiha was, in my time, ten, perhaps twelve, but already chūnin, a born genius, or so they say."

"We seriously need to consider drawing up a timeline of some sort," Tobirama remarked as he joined them, having decided to give his student some alone time to come to terms with things. "This 'he was such-and-such age when I was around' business is getting confusing fast."

"You can draw it up, if you like," Hashirama informed his brother. Turning back to Nawaki, he shrugged. "The Uzumaki are known for their longevity as well as their sealing techniques," he told his grandson. "And I can't wait to see her again."

"Yeah, yeah," Tobirama drawled. "I just hope they aren't causing any trouble there in Hoenn."

* * *

><p>O.O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p>Before anyone asks, I will not be addressing the Hoenn side of things here. I may or may not write a companion piece focusing on the Hoenn side, but fact is right now my mind is stuck firmly in Sinnoh whenever I dedicate processing power to this storyworld.<p>

However, feel free to tell me what sort of hijinks you think the following people are getting up to: Kushina, Mito, Nagato, Konan, Sasori, Roshi, Han, Shisui, Jiraiya, Yugito, Yagura, Dan and whoever else you think should show up. I make no promises about even acknowledging any of those suggestions, but you guys just might give me a good idea XD.


	12. Contemplations

Chapter 12: Contemplations

_Namikaze Minato's Journal_

_Tuesday, 17 November_

_22:04_

_Day Count: 23_

_Location: Oreburgh City Pokémon Centre_

_We crossed Route 203 and Oreburgh Gate to arrive here at about 20 00 hours, having been delayed by my pursuit and subsequent obtaining of a male Ralts, and by a group of Marowak believed to be Ash the Cubone's former companions._

_Inoichi Junior really looks like a female. According to Riley, as well as Yahiko's PokéDex information, all Ralts have the same appearance of a little _feminine_ green-haired white-dressed spirit. Both Inoichi Jr. and Haku find this highly amusing. Also, Kimimaro and Blue are incapable of appreciating a joke; both merely looked slightly confused at the general conversation._

_Seeing as we arrived so late in the evening, Riley decided to introduce us to Roark, the local Gym Leader, tomorrow. Apparently he knows Roark's father, Bryon, who's also a Gym Leader, of Canalave City. This idea that the Gym Leaders differ so widely in strength and skill is odd; I wonder how Sakumo, Fū and Itachi will do at the Eterna Gym, whose Leader is supposedly stronger than the one we intend to challenge here. That's the second-weakest one, though, so it shouldn't matter much._

_Blue Shadow and I haven't gotten much work in today, but we intend to make up for it tomorrow. Training her is bringing back memories of being a jōnin-sensei; Blue rather reminds me of Kakashi, with her quiet perseverance and inability to laugh at jokes. That intelligence of hers surprises Riley, so I think she's supposed to be unusually smart for a Riolu, though I haven't got any others to compare her with. Blue is certainly smart, especially given how we're going about training at the moment._

_I could borrow Yahiko's PokéDex and look up the full list of moves a Riolu can learn, but I've decided against it. I built my reputation as the Yellow Flash with skills I discovered, created and mastered on my own; the only foundation I had was Academy lessons, Jiraiya-sensei's encouragement and Kushina's fūinjutsu knowledge. In much the same way, I know the basics to how Pokémon training and battling works, and Blue has the skill set she possessed when she passed into my ownership; we can figure out something of our own from there._

_Kimimaro suggested that we might merely stumble upon techniques already well-documented, since he himself had, from a stolen secret scroll, realised that a couple of his bone-based taijutsu techniques had already been created by a previous Kaguya with the same bloodline ability, and that he, with Orochimaru's help, had reengineered those techniques. There are many ways to do a thing, but only a few ways to do it right. I think it doesn't matter; we'll still learn something. I'm confident the attempts at a modified style of taijutsu and at energy manipulation will have interesting results._

_I wonder what Kushina's teaching her Pokémon. I wonder what Pokémon she has. I wonder whether she thinks of Naruto every day. That's a silly thought; of course she will. Just like I know she misses me as much as I miss her. I think I miss her more, though._

* * *

><p>Sakumo and Fū named their Shinx and Growlithe Lightning and Thunder. Itachi had no idea what to name his recently acquired Golduck.<p>

The reason for naming him Lightning was obvious: Shinx was an Electric-Type. Growlithe's name explained itself once her Roar had been heard. The two dog-like Pokémon were getting along, and fought surprisingly well as a team, so giving them complementary names made sense too. Itachi had a hunch something was going on between the Pokémon, but they were of differing species; he wasn't sure how it worked with these sorts of beings.

He had a hunch something might happen between Fū and Sakumo too, but given that they had known each other all of three weeks, it was probably far too early to say. Besides, Itachi had other things on his mind, and had never been given to bothering about details like this anyway. If something happened, it happened, and if it didn't, it didn't.

The Golduck had attacked them on the way to Floaroma Town, apparently looking for a challenging fight. Itachi, who was a shinobi born and bred, not to mention having had no Pokémon of his own at the time, had ignored the ear-splitting screech that sent both his companions' Pokémon cowering, and countered its attempt to scratch his face with a well-placed punch.

The blue bipedal….duck had been intrigued by the idea of a human who fought it directly, which resulted in a little exchange of Water Gun, taijutsu applied with cautious lack of force, and more furious slashing with claws, until the creature used a sort of telekinetic attack that immobilised Itachi's arms. His PokéDex later informed him that was a Confusion attack.

Itachi decided enough was enough, used a simple genjutsu meant to disorient the enemy momentarily, and threw a Pokéball.

He would not have done so under most circumstances, but his fellow travellers had pointed out that his conspicuous lack of Pokémon, in a world where even housewives had a pet Glameow or an Ambipom that helped with chores, needed rectifying. Furthermore, leaving a fight-happy animal running loose like that, it could be a threat to other people passing by. Well, given that non-lethal fights were the norm here, more like an annoyance, but still.

Itachi was tempted to name the Golduck Kisame. The Golduck was a male, according to Itachi's very-helpful full-of-odd-tricks PokéDex, and its behaviour rather reminded him of the blue-skinned man, right down to how it could settle down quietly once the status quo had been established.

The Golduck was now curled up beside Itachi, as he sat watching the field of flowers sway gently in the cold breeze, barely visible in the moonlight. Fū and Sakumo had already fallen asleep in their sleeping bags, Lightning and Thunder beside them. Itachi couldn't sleep. His previous life might no longer be a concern of his, but that did not stop him from worrying.

Uchiha Madara was no concern of his or Minato's, not anymore, but Itachi wondered if he should tell the Yondaime Hokage anyway. All it would bring was unnecessary, pointless thinking and worrying, but Itachi himself had always preferred knowing.

Sasori, in comparison, was actually in the same world. Though, since the Akatsuki member was likely reduced to an eleven-year-old human body like the rest of them, it was probably safe to assume he would not be the source of much trouble for the immediate period. A puppeteer was useless without his tools, and there were other shinobi there too, at least two of whom could be depended upon to keep an eye on things. Still, Itachi intended to have an ear out on news from Hoenn.

* * *

><p><em>Tues – 17 Nov – 23 days<em>

_Thirty years in, and I'm still deeply appreciative of this idea Hashi suggested so long ago. I would so hate to take out my feelings on him instead of blank pages of white paper. Brother doesn't need to hear I appreciate his ideas, too, which is another good reason for this journal thing._

_THE HECK IS IT WITH ALL THESE PEOPLE SHOWING UP?_

_Not that there's anything wrong with that, but the idea that we're all here because some death god doesn't actually care about having souls sacrificed to him is weird. Which is why I'm still writing this despite having written this ten entries ago. And all these random people. Fū doesn't even like humans in general. It's actually a relief that she's left, since I now don't need to tiptoe around her carefully._

_And now Saru's student went and died on him, apparently. Well, no offence, I get that you preferred he lived out a full life, but as it is Jiraiya made it far longer than I did, if word from him via Kushina via Minato that he's 54 is correct. It's an occupational hazard, dying younger than you should. _

_I must say, I'm curious to meet Jiraiya. I wonder what sort of students Saru trained up. _

_Speaking of student's students, Minato was Jiraiya's student, wasn't he. Then this Jiraiya must be an exceptional man, to have had such a brilliant student. I've been using every spare moment since he left to try to unravel the Hiraishin seal – what a name for it too, Flying Thunder God – but without much success so far. Saru mentioned he's a master of space-time ninjutsu like me; seems that's quite true, along with fūinjutsu, and chakra shape manipulation taken to extremes, and goodness knows what else. _

_I find this annoying. I fell to thirty of Kumo's finest. Minato, apparently, can slaughter dozens of Iwa-nin without taking a single real injury. Dang it, but the whelp's seriously ahead of me in the game – and knows it. He actually left a note telling me I was welcome to learn his Hiraishin no Jutsu if I could work it out myself. Arrogant little whelp. I do love a good challenge though. I've got to win the rematch...all the rematches._

_There's that Pokémon League thing to think about too. Well, I've been doing some serious research, and I'm going to need a strong team of Pokémon. Fluffball's already gotten a good start, but I need to think about what sort of Pokémon I want to obtain – 17 elemental types to think of, seriously. How do Bug and Flying qualify, anyway? And I don't see the difference between Rock and Ground. But that's how the rules work in this world, I guess._

_I obviously can't get 17 Pokémon – there's a rule about only carrying a maximum of six Pokémon at any time, so I'd have to get Pokémon that learn a good mix of moves, and work out how to have them fight most effectively. And other people have their strategies too. Geez, it's a good thing there's a whole region full of Pokémon to choose from._

_Brother doesn't want to do the challenge. He says he's done with all the fighting for the top position thing, and if he decides to come along at all, it'll be just travelling for him, no Gym challenging or whatever. I get that. But I'm feeling more restless._

_Nawaki wants to go prove himself, of course. He never got the chance to in his previous life, so there's no way he's passing up this opportunity. He says he's going to be both the best shinobi and the best Pokémon Trainer of all of us. I haven't got the heart to point out to my dear great-nephew that most of us have already climbed to our respective peaks as ninja, and that some of those peaks are going to be difficult to overcome – kekkei genkai are a pain. Even my brother, occasionally._

_Hizashi didn't say much. Aside from something about how it's nice to be able to make his choices himself. The Hyūga Clan seriously needs some shaking up and restructuring._

_Ah, forget this. Every moment I spend venting here is a moment I could be using to work out that teleportation technique of his. Stupid stubborn seal..._

* * *

><p>O.O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p>And so, finally, all members of the ISA have at least one Pokémon each. Next chapter will take another few days to show up, but in the meantime, thirteen is an unlucky number, or so some people would think. I'll be doing something about that, even though I'm not superstitious.<p> 


	13. One Reality To Another

Yes, an update. After many months. I can't guarantee any kind of regularity in my updating for Twinleaf anymore, since I'm off writing a new Naruto fanfic of mine, Double Trouble - my own take on the old Minato-survives-the-sealing line, but hopefully done in a better, more logical way, no need for the Shinigami to do something unexpected or Naruto somehow travelling back in time.

But I digress. I'm still going to continue this, when I'm not distracted by something else, I appreciate the reviews and keep count of the faves, and I hope you enjoy reading the chapter.

* * *

><p>O.O.O.O<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 13: One Reality To Another<span>

Fū hated losing.

In her onetime position as Takigakure's resident living weapon, being defeated meant she wasn't even useful. As a (former) jinchūriki, defeat was an embarrassment, given the sheer amount of raw power she had to draw upon. And for a person who had grown used to having nobody to rely upon, the very idea that she could not defend herself adequately was abhorrent.

That last reason had been doubly true since Fū had died as a direct result of it.

The girl slid fluidly to one side, trying to circle around her opponent as she launched a series of punches and kicks. The boy ducked and dodged, deflecting her strikes, and spun into a side kick that had Fū dropping right down to the ground to avoid it. She tried to sweep his legs out from under him, but he sprang away, leaping behind her to deal a powerful downward blow. The girl rolled away, only to realise the first attack was a feint, and he had been prepared to follow her evasive move, landing a hit that knocked the breath out of her.

Itachi pulled back, offering his training partner a hand. As always, Fū ignored it, getting to her feet by herself. Tolerating his and Sakumo's presence was one thing; accepting their help, admitting she was in need of assistance at all, however...

"Stupid genii," she muttered.

The other boy looked at her. That was annoying too, the way Itachi said so little, giving her few clues to what he thought when his dark eyes rested on her, with his calm, closed expression and controlled mannerisms. Right now, for example, the unasked question rang clearly in the air between them, but she could discern nothing more. A couple of times, when Fū caught Sakumo still awake and restless at night, he had the same distant look, but Itachi _lived_ his mask.

Fū would ask the white-haired boy about it, but he was in Floaroma Town proper, following up on a couple of the odd job requests they had received – not having to compete with ten other boys for things to do and earnings to divide was great – while she and Itachi had remained at their camp in the woods to get in some early-morning training. Well, there was no good reason why she shouldn't tell weasel-boy just what she thought anyway.

"You're always so perfect," she spat. "Always better at everything, making me feel like a green genin without even trying, I'd ask you to help me improve, but then you'd be all agreeable about it, like all the other Konoha-nin, and I'd feel even more like an idiot."

Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"There it is again! That, that look, how you never seem to show anything, and the little wheels are spinning away in that so-smart head, and I have no idea what you could be thinking, and it pisses me off, but you probably know all about that. I bet everyone loved it, their wonderful genius, their talented ninja, before you went all killer S-ranked missing-nin on them."

Fū paused to draw breath, and in that moment, Itachi spoke. "Yes, they did."

The soft, flat answer was unexpected. She quickly changed her wide-eyed shock into a scowl.

"Such a smart kid; he graduated from the Academy at seven years old, you know. Fugaku-san, you must be so proud of your son; to think that he mastered the clan bloodline power by age eight. Chūnin at ten, and in peacetime too; what a prodigy." Itachi's voice was not quite devoid of emotion; something – anger? Frustration? – quivered faintly in it. "The clan genius. A once-per-generation jewel. My father's son. The kid ANBU captain. He'll do us proud. As though that was all I am, a _thing_ of theirs, to be used as they saw fit."

She winced.

He looked at her again, this time with the far-off gaze of one who saw his memories instead of the present. Then he barked out a laugh, a short, half-hysterical sound that could scarcely be further from humour. "Genius," he told her with a smile, "is not all it's cracked up to be."

* * *

><p>Sakumo followed the well-worn path across the fields of grass, his Shinx bounding around him, yellow eyes wide. He had a heavy package under one arm, to be delivered to the man in charge at the Valley Windworks. The grey-and-red building was already visible in the distance, while the great white windmills – an odd sight, but not entirely unheard of for well-travelled shinobi like him – dotted the landscape. The bright morning sunlight sparkled on the river snaking through the valley.<p>

As he drew closer, Sakumo could see two people apparently waiting outside, and he upped his pace. At closer sight, though, the all-too-familiar feeling of impending danger made itself known.

A man dressed in white, grey and silver stood before the main door, arms crossed, glaring at the newcomer, a Glameow purring beside him. Across from him was a frantic-looking girl, wringing her hands helplessly.

He stopped, equidistant from both of them. "What's happening here?"

"None of your business, boy," the silver-sleeved man growled, prompting an answering snarl from Lightning. The Glameow came to her paws, giving the Shinx a haughty look.

The girl backed away from the man, stepping closer to Sakumo. "They just came out of the blue," she told the white-haired male, pointing nervously. "My father's inside with the others – they threw me out, said they're taking over the Windworks and told me to stay out until they were done. I don't dare leave and call the police – what if they hurt him?" None but the most skilled of deceivers could produce that note of fear and panic in their voice.

_So much for leaving the shinobi lifestyle._

"I'll help get your dad out," he whispered to her, even as he mentally reviewed the surroundings, evaluating his opponent and the odds.

The guard at the door hadn't heard him, but was suspicious anyway. "Don't get any ideas, little b-"

"Shinx! Spark!" Sakumo commanded, even as he closed the distance near-instantly, cutting off the man's words with a punch to the face, then following up with a blow that dropped his opponent unconscious to the ground with barely a sound. Lightning's electrified attack crackled as he collided with the Glameow, which got out half a screech before the Shinx grabbed it by the scruff and shook it hard. The dazed grey cat sprawled in the dirt, the smell of burnt fur hanging in the air.

"The door's locked," the girl informed him timidly, eyes wide with shock. Sakumo flipped the guard over with a grunt, planning to search him, but she shook her head. "One of the others headed into town, he was holding the spare-"

He spun and kicked the door, putting a little chakra into it. The door, lock smashed, swung open, and he dashed in, Shinx at his side.

* * *

><p>Itachi finished clearing away all traces of their presence, while Fū ensured they had remembered to pack everything. Thunder sat watching them quietly – she had sprained a leg while working on combining fire with her tackles – as did the still-unnamed Golduck, on his Trainer's instruction. They pulled their packs onto their shoulders, Fū persuaded her Growlithe to go back into her Pokéball, Itachi carried Sakumo's bag, and the two shinobi left the forest clearing that had housed them for the past week.<p>

"I still can't believe it's so peaceful," Fū murmured, breaking the near-total silence that had lain between the Konoha-nin and her since their practice session. "One would think, given a world filled with creatures easily as powerful as any ninja, the region would be..."

"More chaotic?" Itachi suggested softly. They walked through Floaroma Town's streets, heading for an eatery the trio had regularly visited over the past days. Golduck's beady red eyes flicked between the interesting sights and his Trainer, who similarly kept an eye on him. "More prone to bloodshed and power struggles, the way our world was?"

The girl shrugged. "This" she swept an arm out to indicate the general area and beyond "is, while pleasant, downright unreal."

"No threat of danger," the boy agreed. "No political intrigue."

"No powerful established, professional law-keeping or military force."

"An entire town, and all they have are a handful of rookie Pokémon Trainers, one police officer and her Growlithe."

A girl hurried past them, heading for the police post. "Officer!" the girl cried, evidently worried about something. "Come quickly!"

* * *

><p>It was laughably easy, even for a shinobi-turned-boy who was out of practice. The intruders had not expected resistance to come so quickly, were not familiar with combat that did not involve their Pokémon doing all the work, and apparently had not trained said Pokémon as well as Sakumo had his Lightning. A second Glameow was quickly zapped into submission, the pink caterpillar's shot of sticky strands was side-stepped and the creature itself batted away impatiently, one man's head was introduced to the wall, another to Sakumo's foot, while the third simply backed away, one hand raised in surrender; his other arm was carrying his only Pokémon, a pale purple cocoon-like beast with mean scarlet eyes.<p>

The boy glared, but moved warily past him to the control room, pushing the door open. Inside, a harried-seeming man tweaked and adjusted knobs and dials under the supervision of a redheaded woman, dressed in the same outlandish metallic white-and-grey style as her lackeys. A fat grey-striped cat sat at her feet, and it snarled as Sakumo came in.

The woman looked at him appraisingly. She had to have heard the commotion outside, but appeared unconcerned, merely raising her eyebrows questioningly.

He went straight to the point. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"I'm one of Team Galactic's three Commanders," she replied promptly. Sakumo almost did a double-take at the direct answer. "We've been trying to create a new world that's better than this one... But people have shown little understanding about what we do."

There was not much of an answer the shinobi could give to that, which was due in large part to the fact that her words did not make much sense to him. Apparently she was a key figure of this organisation, but he failed to see what taking control of a power generation plant had to do with making a better world. The woman, also, spoke as though he should already know of her organisation, which he most certainly did not.

"You don't understand either, do you? It's a little saddening... So, let's have a battle to decide what we should do next. If I win, you leave. If you win, we, Team Galactic, will leave!" The fat cat got up and swaggered forward, even as its owner backpedalled, pulling the Windworks worker with her in order to clear the space. Sakumo shrugged, glancing down at Lightning, who moved up too.

* * *

><p>By the time Officer Jenny got there, the excitement was all over. Itachi and Fū were mildly surprised to see Sakumo there, and equally vaguely surprised to hear of the strange intruders.<p>

"...I lacked the means to detain them, so I allowed them to leave, and they did so, as she agreed," Sakumo finished. The policewoman seemed rather taken aback; it was unclear whether this was because of how a ten-year-old had driven off several adult representatives of a shady organisation, or due to the calm, matter-of-fact way in which the ten-year-old reported what had happened.

"Well, you did what you could," she eventually said. "Do please be careful and not charge in like that next time; you could have been hurt. I'll need to investigate..." The officer left, and the trio exchanged amused looks.

The man who ran the Windworks was very grateful, as was his daughter, who was the one who had fetched the police. "We'll be happy to put you youngsters up for a couple of days," the man insisted. "Aspiring Trainers, are you? There are some very interesting Pokémon about here – you must stay till Friday, at least, the Drifloon flock only come by once a week."

They had little reason to disagree with the suggestion, and Fū wanted to see the pack of Electrike that were rumoured to live in the valley, so they politely accepted.

* * *

><p>"So, we need to find out about this Team Galactic," Itachi stated plainly. It was late in the afternoon, and they were alone by the river.<p>

"Whatever for?" Fū said. "Are we heroes now, going around protecting the defenceless?"

"It's the right thing to do, as stupid as that sounds," Sakumo pointed out. Was that reluctance she heard in his voice?

"Fine, fine," she muttered grumpily. "Since we can, we should, and all that jazz."


End file.
